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The  Preacher  >x  his  Sermon 


A  TREATISE  ON  HOMILETICS 


BY  REV.  JOHN  W.ETTER.D.D. 


DAYTON,  OHIO 

United  Brethren  Publishing  House 

1888 


Copyright,  1883, 
By  W.  J.  SHUEY. 


Introductory  Testimonials. 


"I  have  examined  in  manuscript  a  proposed  work  on  Homiletics  by  the  Rev.  J. 
W.  Etter.  The  arrangement  of  the  book  is  philosophical,  and  its  style  clear  and  ani- 
mated. It  is  full  of  happy  sugsestions,  calculated  to  elevate  a  student's  views  of  the 
sacred  ministry,  and  at  the  same  time  stimulate  and  instruct  him.  I  cheerfully  and 
heartily  commend  the  work  to  students  of  theology,  and  to  active  pastors  who  desire 
to  know  more  perfectly  how  to  'divide  the  word  of  truth.'" 

Rev.  S.  F.  UPHAM,  D.  D., 
Professor  of  Practical  Theology,  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 


"It  affords  me  pleasure  to  indorse  the  favorable  judgment  of  Dr.  Upham  on  Rev. 
J.  W.  Etter's  proposed  book  on  Homiletics.  In  freshness  and  vigor  of  style,  and  in 
the  thorough  grasp  of  the  whole  subject,  it  will  no  doubt  take  its  place  among  the 
standard  works  of  the  time,  and  will  command  a  reading  not  only  by  students  and 
ministers,  but  also  by  intelligent  laymen.  II  can  not  fail  to  inerefise  the  effectiveness 
of  our  rising  ministry."  Rev.  HENRY  A.  BUTTZ,  D.  D., 

President,  and  Professor  of  New  Testament  Exegesis,  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 


"  I  have  carefully  looked  over  your  proposed  book  on  Homiletics,  especially  the 
introductory  part  on  the  use  of  a  text,  and  am  very  much  pleased  with  its  direct  and 
simple  clearness.  I  hope  you  will  complete  it,  as  I  think  it  will  make  a  valuable 
text-book."  Pkof.  JAMES  STRONG,  S.  T.  D., 

Professor  of  Exegetical  Theology,  Drew  Theological  Seminary,  and  Member  of  Bible- 
Revision  Committee. 


"The  outline  plan  and  a  number  of  chapters  of  the  new  work  on  Homiletics, 
'The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon,'  have  been  before  me.  I  have  read  them  with  inter- 
est. The  arrangement  is  methodical,  yet  natural  and  simple,  and  it  will  be  serviceable 
to  students,  ministers,  and  laymen.  The  author  shows  familiarity  with  the  literature 
of  this  subject,  which  is  voluminous,  and  he  brings  to  us  the  most  valuable  conclusions 
from  it.  The  style  is  clear.  You  are  never  left  in  doubt  as  to  what  the  author  means, 
and  withal  there  is  freshness  of  statement.  It  is  the  most  suitable  text-book  that  has 
yet  appeared,  and  I  doubt  not  will  be  used  in  this  Seminary. 

Rev.  G.  a.  FUNKHOUSER,  D.  D., 
Professor  of  New  Testament  Exegesis  and  Homiletics,  Union  Biblical  Seminary. 


"  Having  examined  with  care  the  outlines  and  several  written  chapters  of  Rev.  J. 
W.  Etter's  proposed  work  on  Homiletics,  or,  '  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon,'  I  can 
honestly  say,  that  numerous  as  are  works  on  this  subject,  this  one  promises  to  be  the 
best  of  those  that  are  adapted  for  use  as  a  text-book  in  the  class-room.  What  is  taken 
from  other  books  is  wisely  chosen  and  presented  with  skill  and  freshness.  What  is 
original,  entirely  new  matter,  is  a  valuable  addition  (o  the  science  of  Homiletics." 

liEV.  WILLIAM   H.  IIORNBLOWER,  D.  D., 
Late  Professor  of  Sacred  Rhetoric,  Western  Theological  Seminary. 


I  XI 


Introductory  Testimonials, 


"I  have  read  your  chapter  on  'Sermons  to  Children,'  with  great  interest.  It  is- 
plain,  practical,  suggestive,  and  calculated  to  be  eminently  useful.  I  am  very  glad  you 
have  written  it;  and  if  it  shall,  as  I  trust  it  may,  lead  many  of  our'  brethren  in  the 
ministry  to  give  their  earnest  and  hearty  attention  to  this  most  important  part  of  our 
work  for  Christ,  you  will  have  done  that  which  must  greatly  tend  to  promote  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  best  welfare  of  his  church." 

Rev.  RICHARD  NEWTON,  D.  D., 

Author  of  "Sermons  to  Children,"  etc. 


"  I  have  read  the  manuscript  of  your  forthcoming  book  on  Homiletics  with  much 
interest,  and  take  pleasure  in  giving  it  my  unqualified  approval.  It  gives  us  the  best 
thoughts  of  the  best  writers  on  this  valuable  science,  which,  with  your  own  thoughts, 
fresh  and  vigorous,  makes  it  a  book  adapted  not  only  to  the  ministry  of  our  own  Church, 
but  to  all  who  may  wish  the  better  to  prepare  themselves  for  extended  usefulness  in 
the  ministerial  vocation.  It  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  all  our  preachers,  especially 
the  younger,  and  will,  I  predict,  at  an  early  day,  become  a  text-book  in  the  theological 
seminaries  of  the  country."  Rev.  J.  DICKSON,  D.  D., 

Bishop  in  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ. 


"  I  have  examined  the  manuscript  which  you  did  me  the  honor  to  submit  to  my 
criticism;  this  I  have  done  with  some  care.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  can  give  you  my 
judgment  in  favor  of  its  publication.  The  field  of  Homiletics  as  a  science  is  a  well- 
gleaned  field.  It  is  almost  hopeless  to  think  to  say  anything  new.  All  wo  can  do  is 
to  give  in  a  fresh  and  convenient  form  principles  and  rules  which  the  wisdom  of  gen- 
erations has  evolved.  I  think  you  have  been  able  to  do  this,  and  your  book  will  prove 
a  readable  and  helpful  work.  I  have  been  specially  pleased  with  the  part  on  Exposi- 
tory Preaching.    Wliat  you  say  is  well  put,  and  timely." 

Rev.  C.  a.  STORK,  D.  D., 
Presideiit,  and  Professor  of  Homiletics,  GettysVjurg  Theological  Seminary. 


"It  has  been  my  privilege  to  examine  the  general  plan,  and  to  read  in  manuscript 
several  written  chapters,  of  a  new  work  on  Homiletics,  to  be  styled  '  The  Preacher  and 
His  Sermon,'  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Etter.  The  division  of  the  subject  is  natural  and  system- 
atic. The  discussion  shows  a  full  understanding  of  the  theme.  The  thoughts  are 
presented  with  clearness,  beauty,  and  force,  and  in  plain,  concise,  and  vigorous  lan- 
guage. 1  believe  the  book  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  better  preparing  of  our  mmistry^ 
so  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  '  thoroughly  furnished  unto  every  good  work.'  It  will 
be  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  library  of  every  intelligent  layman,  us  well  as  an  excel- 
lent text-book  for  tlie  theological  student.  The  author  will  do  the  church  and  the 
public  a  great  favor  by  speedily  preparing  it  for  the  press." 

Rev.  H.  a.  THOMPSON,  D.  D., 

President  of  Otterljein  University. 


"  I  have  examined  the  original  manuscript  on  Homiletics  with  great  satisfaction. 
Being  somewhat  acquainted  with  excellent  treatises  on  this  subject,  I  felt  that  little 
remained  to  be  said,  and  that  a  new  author  in  this  field  of  literature  would  experience 
more  than  the  ordinary  perils  of  authorship;  but  I  am  now  persuaded  that  you  are 
not  simply  otl'ering  one  book  more  to  the  market,  but  that  you  have  made  a  valuable 
contribution  to  ecclesiastical  literature.  Two  features  of  the  work  appear  to  mo  to 
be  especially  meritorious:  (1.)  The  succcs^ul  ministers  of  the  past  and  present  are 
made  to  speak  freely  upon  all  the  subjects  treated,  and  their  words  scintillate  from 
every  side  of  the  question,  suggesting  the  rich  and  manifold  character  of  truth.  (2.) 
The  treatise  shows  that  the  field  of  Homiletics  is  more  extensive  than  has  heretofore 
been  explored,  and  new  and  valuable  territory  has  been  opened  up.  This  alone  is  suffi- 
cient to  entitle  the  volume  to  a  hearty  welcome  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  interested 
in  ministerial  duties  and  qualifications."  Rev.  D.  D.  DeLONG,  A.  M., 

President  of  Lebanon  Valley  College. 


PREFACE. 


In  presenting  a  new  work  upon  the  subject  of  preaching, 
the  author  is  aware  that  the  literature  of  Homiletics  is  already 
quite  voluminous.  In  addition  to  the  many  older  treatises 
in  various  languages,  a  number  of  books  of  great  merit  have 
recently  been  published.  But,  numerous  as  are  the  existing 
works  on  Homiletics,  and  able  as  many  of  them  are  in  the 
treatment  of  the  topics  considered,  no  treatise  upon  this  sub- 
ject has  yet  appeared  which  meets  the  wants  of  our  times  in 
its  range  of  subjects. 

In  the  present  work,  while  not  refusing  to  follow  the  old 
beaten  track,  I  have  given  special  attention  to  recent  demands 
of  the  pulpit,  and  to  modern  developments  in  Homiletics,  be- 
lieving that  the  bringing  together  of  the  old  and  new  material 
into  one  treatise  would  justify  the  addition  of  another  work 
to  the  already  extensive  literature  of  this  branch  of  theology. 
In  this  new  department  may  be  mentioned,  especially,  Preach- 
ing to  Children,  Revival  Sermons,  Out-door  Sermons,  Funeral 
Sermons,  Illustrated  Sermons,  Lay  Preaching,  and  Bible-read- 
ings, some  of  which  have  heretofore  received  only  a  passing 
notice,  while  others  have  been  entirely  forgotten  by  our  hom- 
iletical  writers.  If  I  have  handled  the  old  topics  too  summa- 
rily, and  the  new  ones  too  elaborately,  it  is  because  the  former 
are  old,  and  the  latter  new.  Part  I.  has  many  new  features, 
while  Part  IV.  will  suggest  new  methods  of  preaching. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work,  the  literature  of  the  sub- 
ject  has   been   carefully   examined,    and   its    best    teachings 


ii  Pi'eface. 

have  been  adopted,  and  presented  in  a  new  form.  In  the 
conii^sition  of  new  material  I  have  been  compelled  to  origi- 
nate my  own  method. 

The  book  is  not  the  luiblication  of  a  course  of  lectures  on 
preaching,  but  every  chapter  has  been  especially  prepared  for 
this  work,  except  Chapter  II.  in  Part  I.,  which  appeared  in  a 
series  of  articles  in  the  "  Religious  Telescope "  a  few  years 
ago,  and  is  here  reproduced  with  alterations  and  additions. 

In  the  arrangement  of  subjects,  I  have  tried,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, to  follow  the  most  natural  order.  In  the  actual  construc- 
tion of  a  sermon  the  order  is :  (1.)  Selection  of  a  text.  (2.) 
Interpretation  of  the  text.  (3.)  Generalizing  it  into  a  theme. 
(4.)  Framing  of  proposition.  (5.)  Composition,  including  in- 
vention and  disposition.  (6.)  Delivery.  But  in  a  scientific 
treatise  this  order  can  not  be  followed  consecutively,  for  there 
are  other  subjects  connected  with  the  sermon,  nOt  included  in 
the  contents  of  this  order,  which  require  independent  discus- 
sion. Yet  the  S3^stematic  need  not  inter jere  with  the  natural; 
scientifically,  as  well  as  homiletically,  the  most  general  order 
would  suggest  that  the  Preparatory  should  precede  the  Theo- 
retical, the  Theoretical  the  Practical,  and  the  Practical  the 
Concomitant.  After  giving  a  general  view  of  the  Preacher 
and  his  Sermon,  I  introduce  the  Text;  between  this  and  the 
Composition  of  the  sermon  I  pause  to  consider  the  different 
species  and  varieties  of  sermons,  one  of  which  the  sermonizer 
must  always  choose  before  actually  beginning  to  compose. 
The  Com})Osition  of  Introduction,  Discussion,  and  Conclusion, 
or  the  actual  construction  of  the  entire  sermon,  seems  to  be  a 
si)ecial  department  in  Theoretical  Homiletics.  In  the  Prac- 
tical department  are  discussed  the  subjects  belonging  to  the 
delivery  of  sermons.  In  this  way  the  subjects  follow  in  nat- 
ural sequence,  and  in  suitable  form  for  the  instruction  of  the 
learner. 

The  work  is  chiefly  designed  for  a  text-book  in  tlie  class- 
room, for  junior  preachers,  and  active  pastors;  but  the  intro- 
duction of  many  topics  of  general  interest,  and  the  mode  of 


Preface.  Hi 

discussion,  will,  no  doubt,  also  make  it  instructive  to  laymen, 
especially  to  Sunday-school  superintendents  and  teachers, 
class-leaders,  lay  preachers,  and  all  public  speakers. 

I  desire  to  make  honorable  mention  of  Dr.  C.  A.  Stork,  Pres- 
ident and  Professor  of  Homiletics  in  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Gettysburg,  Pa. ;  Dr.  William  H.  Hornblower,  late  Professor 
of  Sacred  Rhetoric  in  Western  Theological  Seminary;  Dr. 
Henry  A.  Buttz,  President  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary; 
Dr.  S.  F.  Upham,  Professor  of  Practical  Theology  in  Drew 
Theological  Seminary ;  Dr.  James  Strong,  member  of  the  Bi- 
ble-revision Committee ;  Dr.  Richard  Newton,  of  Philadelphia ; 
Rev.  D.  D.  DeLong,  A.  M.,  President  of  Lebanon  Valley  Col- 
lege; Bishop  J.  Dickson,  D.  D. ;  Dr.  H.  A.  Thompson,  Presi- 
dent of  Otterbein  University,  and  Dr.  G.  A.  Funkhouser, 
Professor  of  Homiletics  in  Union  Biblical  Seminary,  who  have 
rendered  me  valuable  service  in  the  examination  of  different 
parts  of  my  manuscript,  and  greatly  encouraged  me  in  the 
preparation  of  this  work. 

The  Table  of  Contents,  and  Index,  have  been  prepared  by 
Rev.  W.  A.  Shuey,  A.  M.,  who  has  also  performed  excellent 
service  in  the  work  of  issuing  the  book  from  the  press. 

With  a  full  sense  of  imperfection,  and  the  responsibility  of 
my  task,  I  now  submit  this  book  to  the  church,  and  to  Him 
who  can  use  the  weakest  instrument  for  his  glory. 

Mount  Joy,  Pa.,  August  1,  1883. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 

PREPARATORY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    PREACHER. 

PAGE 

I  I.        The  Title  Defined 17 

Dignity  of  the  Preacher's  Office ?2 

^  II.      Preaching,  the  Chief  Duty  of  the  Preacher 23 

g  III.     Christ,  the  Preacher's  Theme 25 

g  IV.     His  Rehition  to  Scientific  and  Popular  Skepticism 30 

CHAPTER   II. 

GENERAL    PREPARATION. 

Preliminary  Remarks 37 

g  I.        A  Proper  Conception  of  the  Ministerial  Oflfice 38 

1.  A  Ministry  of  Truth 40 

2.  A  Ministry  of  Duty 42 

3.  Objectof  the  Ministry 43 

g  II.       Physical  Preparation 46 

g  III.    Intellectual  Preparation 53 

§  IV.     Spiritual  Preparation  60 

Call  to  the  Ministry 65 

g  V.      Common  Sense 67 

CHAPTER  III. 
SPECIAL    PREPARATION. 

Preliminary  Remarks 70 

.§  I.        Theoretical  Ilomiletics 70 

Literature  of 71 

V 


m  Conte7its, 

PAQK 

I  II.      Practical  Homiletics 77 

Sermonic  Literature 77 

Models  of 77 

Masterpieces  of  Sermons 86 

I  III.     Gathering  of  Iloiniletical  Material 87 

I.  Sources  of  Iloniiletical  Material 88 

1.  The  Bible 88 

2.  ]Iistory      92 

3.  Science 93 

4.  Pliilosophy 94 

5.  General  Literature 96 

6.  Surroundings  of  Daily  Life 100 

7.  The  Mind 102 

II.  How  to  Gather  Material  from  these  Sources 103 

1.  By  a  System  of  Reading  and  Study 103 

2.  By  a  System  of  Preserving  the  Results  of  Read- 

ing and  Study 105- 

III.  How  to  Ai5proi>riate  and  Use  in  the  Sermon  the  Gath- 

ered Material 107 

Originality  and  Plagiarism lOQ' 


PART  II. 
THEORETICAL. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    SERMON. 

\  I.        Definition  and  Description 117 

\  II.      Brief  History  of  the  Sermon 124 

g  III.    Relation  of  the  Sermon  to  Homiletics 127 

\  IV.    The  Sermon  should  be  No  Ordinary  Effort 129 

§  V.      The  Sermon  of  To-day  ought  to  Excel  that  of  any  Former  Pe- 
riod  _ 133 

\  VI.    General  Properties  of  the  Sermon 137 

1.  Must  be  Evangelical 137 

2.  Must  be  Instructive 138 

3.  Must  be  Interesting 140 

4.  Must  be  Edifying 141 

I  VIL  Length  of  the  Sermon , 143 

g  VIII.  Repeating  Sermons 145 

g  IX.    Series  of  Sermons 148 

g  X.      One  or  Two  Sermons  a  Sabbath? 148 

1.  One  Sermon  System  Beneficial  to  the  Preacher 149 

2.  One  Sermon  System  Beneficial  to  the  Congregation 151 


Contents.  .  vii 


chapter  ii. 
'the  text  of  the  sermon. 

PAGE 

A  Brief  History  of  its  Use 153 

^  I.         Objections  to  ihe  Use  of  Texts 155 

g  II.       Reasons  for  Selecting  a  Text 156 

g  III.     From  Wliat  Portion  of  the  Bible  should  the  Text  be  Selected?  158 

g  IV.     How  to  Select  a  Text 161 

Preliminary  Considerations 161 

Rules  for  Selection 161 

I  V.      When  to  Choose  a  Text 169 

I  VI.     A  Systematic  Record  of  Texts  from  which  to  Select 169 

\  VII.  Interpretation  of  the  Text 170 

I.  Difficulties  of  Interpretation 172 

II.  Prerequisites  173 

III.  Brief  Rules  of  Interpretation ,.  174 

I  VIII.  How  to  Obtain  a  Proper  Theme  from  the  Text 175 

CHAPTER  III. 
SPECIES    OF    SERMONS. 

I  I.        Sermons  of  Two  Species 178 

I  II.      The  Topical  Sermon 180 

I.  The  Proposition 181 

II.  Divisions 186 

Reasons  for 187 

Examples  of. 189 

1.  Variety 191 

2.  Exhaustiveness 192 

3.  Number  of  Divisions 194 

4.  Arrangement  of  Divisions 196 

5.  Subdivisions 198 

6.  Transition 198 

7.  Should  the  Divisions  be  Stated  beforehand? 200 

§  III.     The  Textual  Sermon 201 

Modes  of  Treating  a  Textual  Discussion 202 

CHAPTER  IV. 

VARIETIES    OP    SERMONS. 

Preliminary  Remarks 207 

I  I.        Introductory,  Farewell,  and  Political  Sermons 208 

'i  II.      Sermons  for  Special  Occasions 209 

1.  Holidays 209 

2.  Miscellaneous  Occasions , 210 

I  HI.    Sermons  to  Special  Classes  of  Hearers 211 

1.  The  Young 212 

2.  The  Aged 213 


viii  Conte7tts. 

PAGE 

3.  The  Sisters 1214 

4.  The  Young  Converts 214 

5.  The  Various  Professions  and  Occupations 216 

g  rV.     Doctrinal  Sermons 217 

\  V.       Historical  and  Biographical  Preaching 219 

§  VI.     Practical  and  Experimental  Sermons 221 

I  VII.    Illustrated  Sermons 224 

g  VIII.  Funeral  Sermons 227 

I  IX.     Out- Door  Sermons 230 

CHAPTER  V. 
REVIVAL    SERMONS. 

g  I.        General  Remarks 236 

§  II.      A  Fundamental  Requisite  for  Effective  Revival  Preaching 240 

I  III.     Character  of  Revival  Preaching 241 

1.  As  to  the  General  Matter  of  the  Sermon 242 

2.  As  to  the  Special  Matter  of  the  Sermon 244 

3.  As  to  the  Manner  of  Revival  Preaching 245 

§  IV.    Questions  on  Revival  Preaching 249 

§  V.      Character  of  the  Preaching  of  Some  of  the  most  Eminent  Re- 
vivalists   251 

CHAPTER   VI. 

SERMONS    TO    CHILDREN. 

Preliminary  Remarks 256 

g  I.        Reasons  for  Preaching  to  Cliildren ; 257 

g  II.       Qualifications  for  Preaching  to  Children 2o3 

\  III.    Different  Methods  of  Preaching  to  Children 265 

1.  The  Sermonette 205 

2.  The  Duplex  INIethod 266 

3.  The  Service  of  Song 267 

4.  The  Children's  Church 268 

\  IV.     Matter  for  the  Cliildren's  Sermon 270 

\  V.      Manner  of  Preaching  to  Children 274 

\  VI.    Benefits  Resulting  from  Preaching  to  Children 279 

1.  To  the  Preacher 279 

2.  To  the  Adult  Hearers 279 

3.  To  the  Children 2S0 

CHAPTER  VII. 
EXPOSITORY    SERMONS. 

I  I.        General  Remarks 2S2 

g  II.      The  Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  Expository  Preaching 

Compared 284 

illl.    General  Management  of  Ilomiletic  Exposition 286 


Contents.  ix 

PAGE 

Unity  of  Structure 287 

Examples  of  Outlines  of  Expository  Sermons 289 

g  rV.    Continuous  Series  of  Exposition 292 

Preparation  for 292 

1.  Construction  of  Expository  Sermons 293 

2.  Management  of  Practical  Suggestions,  Exhortation,  and 

Application 295 

3.  DiflScult,  Mysterious,  and  Controverted  Passages 297 

4.  Delicate  Passages 297 

^  V.      Portionsof  Scripture  Especially  Adapted  to  Expository  Preach- 
ing     298 

^  VI.    Some  Valuable  Aids  to  Expository  Preaching 300 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE    INTRODUCTION. 

^  I.        Introductory  Remarks  on  the  Composition  of  the  Sermon 302 

Parts  of  a  Sermon..... 303 

\  II,      Definition  of  Introduction 304 

§  III.     Design  of  an  Introduction 307 

\  IV.    The  Materials  or  Sources  of  Introduction 308 

1.  The  Text 308 

2.  The  Subject 309 

3.  The  Relations  of  the  Subject 310 

4.  Various  Present  Circumstances 311 

(1.)    Of  Time 311 

(2.)    Of  Place 312 

(3.)    Of  the  Condition  of  the  Congregation 312 

(4.)    Of  the  Occasion 312 

5.  Miscellaneous  Sources 312 

§  V.      Improper  Material  for  an  Introduction 314 

§  VI.    Character  or  Quality  of  the  Introduction 315 

1.  Unity 315 

2.  Pertinency 316 

3.  Brevity 317 

4.  Simplicity  and  Modesty 318 

5.  Variety 319 

§  VII.    Suggestions  on  the  Composition  of  the  Introduction 320 

CHAPTER  IX. 
THE    DISCUSSION. 

Definition  of  Discussion 323 

\  I.        Origination  of  Material 323 

1.  Invention 324 

Kidder's  Rules  for 328 

2.  Suggestive  Reading 327 

I  II.      Arrangement  of  Material 329 


X  Contents. 


PAGE 


\  III.    Qualities  of  the  Discussion 330 

1.  Unity 330 

2.  S^mmetiy 331 

3.  Progress 33l> 

I  IV      Explanation 332 

Definition  of  Explanation 333 

Advice  as  to  Use  of  Explanation 333 

Means  of  Explanation 333 

I.  Exegesis 333 

II.  Definition 334 

III.  Narration 335 

IV.  Description 336 

How  to  Increase  Power  of. 337 

V.  Illustration 338 

Reasons  for  Use  of. 338 

Cultivation  of  Power  of 339 

Other  Means  of  Explanation 340 

I  V.      Conviction 341 

Definition  of 341 

Importance  of  Understanding  the  Laws  of  Reasoning 341 

Apodixis  Biblica 342 

Modes  of  Argument 343 

1.  A  priori  Method 343 

2.  A  posteriori  Method 344 

3.  A  fortim-i  Method 345 

4.  Experience 346 

5.  Testimony 347 

(I.)    The  Witnesses 347 

(2.)    The  Nature  of  the  Facts  Attested 348 

6.  Induction 348 

7.  Deduction 349 

§  VI.    Refutation 350 

I.  Relative  Value  of    Affirmative  and  Negative  Argu- 

mentation    351 

II.  Modes  of  Refutation 352 

1.  Proving  the  Contradictory 352 

2.  Exposing  Fallacies 352 

3.  Argumentum  ad  Homincm 353 

lieduclio  ad  absurdum 353 

4.  Analogy 353 

5.  Irony 354 

III.  Arrangement  of  Refutation 354 

§  VII.  Fallacies 355 

I.  Verbal  Fallacies • 355 

1.  Words 356 

2.  Construction  of  Sentences 357 

II.  Other  Fallacies 358 

1.     Petitio  Principii 358 

Hume's  Argument  Against  Miracles 358 


Contents.  xi 

PAGE 

2.     Kiuds  of  Argument  which  are  Fallacious  when 

Unfairly  Used 359 

Proving  too  much 359 

Use  of  Jests,  Puns,  Epitliets 3ri9 

\  VIII.  Suggestions  on  the  Composition  of  the  Discussion 359 

1.  Logical  Proof  Not  to  be  Too  Much  Depended  upon 359 

2.  Mode  of  Treatment,  Determination  of 361 

3.  Arrangement,  Correction,  Final  Criticism 362 

CHAPTER  X. 
THE    CONCLUSION. 

§  I.        Its  Importance 365 

\  II.      Design  of  the  Conclusion 367 

\  III.     Material  for  Conclusion 369 

I.  Recapitulation 370 

II.  Application 371 

1.  Inferences 373 

2.  Remarks 374 

3.  Appeal 376 

Composite  Conclusion 380 

§  IV.      Improper  Material  for  Conclusion 380 

'i  V.        General  Character  of  the  Conclusion 381 

§  VI.      Suggestions  on  the  Composition  of  the  Conclusion 384 


PART   III. 
PRACTICAL. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PULPIT    ELOQUENCE. 

General  Remarks 389' 

Persuasion,  and  Motives 390 

Prejudice  Against  Eloquence 392 

g  I.        What  it  is  Not 394 

g  JI.      What  iDls 395 

1.  Origin  of  Eloquence 397 

2.  Relation  of  Imagination  to  Eloquence 398 

g  III.     How  to  Produce  Eloquence 399 

1.  By  Vivid,  Vigorous  Thought 399 

2.  By  Emotion  Springing  from  Genuine  Sympathy 400 

(1.)    With  the  Truth 400 

(2.)    With  Human  Life 401 

3.  By  the  Character  of  the  Speaker 403 

4.  By  Christian  Faith 404 

5.  By  the  Influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 405- 


xii  Co7i  tents. 


CHAPTER  II. 

STYLE. 

FAGB 

Definition,  and  General  Remarks 408 

I  I.        Primary  (Qualities  of  Style , 410 

I.         Perspicuity 410 

1      Distinct  and  Clear  Conception  of  Subject 412 

2.  Precision  of  Language 413 

3.  Words  in  Common  Circulation 413 

4.  Amplitude 415 

Prolixity 416 

Undue  Brevity,  or  Terseness 417 

n.      Energy 419 

Origin  of  Energy 420 

Requisites  of  Energetic  Style 420 

1.  An  Energetic  Nature 420 

2.  Penetrative  Tliought 421 

3.  Language  must  possess — 

(1.)     Energetic  Brevity 422 

(2.)    Energetic  Construction 423 

(3.)    Energetic  Imagery 424 

in.     Beauty 426 

The  Result  of  Union  of  Other  Qualities 427 

1.  Poetical  Language 427 

2.  Simplicity  of  Language 429 

3.  Figurative  Language 429 

Relative  Importance  of  Primary  Qualities  of  Stylo 429 

,g  II.       Secondary  Qualities 430 

1.  The  Scriptural  Style 430 

2.  Sublimity  of  Style 431 

3.  Naturalness  of  Style 432 

g  III.    Means  of  Acquiring  a  Good  Style 433 

CHAPTER  IIL 

MODES    OF    DELIVERY. 

\  I.        Brief  History  of  the  Diilerent  Modes  of  Delivery 439 

\  II.      The  Reading  Method 444 

I.  Advantages ■ 415 

II.  Disadvantages 416 

I  ill.     The  Memoriter  Method 451 

g  IV.     Tlio  Extemporaneous  Method 453 

Advantages 453 

Objections  to  this  INtethod 454 

I  V.       The  Composite  Method 402 

g  VI.     Some  I'ractical  Suggestions  and  .\dvicc 462 

1.  When  and  How  to  Uso  the  Memoriter  Method 462 

2.  When  and  liow  to  Use  the  Reading  Method 464 


Contents.  xiii 

PACK 

3.  What  Mode  should  be  Adopted  by  the  Beginner? 465 

4.  What  should  be  done  by  Those  Already  Accustomed  to 

Reading  or  Reciting? 467 

5.  The  Important  Requisites  for  Extemporaneous  Preaching  468 

6.  How  to  Prepare  for  Immediate  Delivery 470 

7.  How  to  Extemporize  in  the  Pulpit 472 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ELOCUTION,    AND    CONDUCT    IN    THE    PULPIT. 

Definition  and  Importance  of  Elocution 476 

§  I.        The  Voice 480 

1.  Quality  of  Voice 481 

2.  Volume  of  Voice 485 

3.  Some  Directions  in  -  egard  to  Voice 486 

§  II.     Gesture 489 

1.  Position 490 

2.  Action 490 

Tables  of  Gestures,  with  generic  signification 491 

3.  Some  Directions  in  regard  to  Gesture 494 

4.  Facial  Expression 495 

I  III.     Conduct  in  the  Pulpit 498 

1.  Earnestness  of  Manner 498 

2.  Self-Possession 500 

3.  Witticism 601 

4.  Levity 502 

5.  Formality 602 

6.  Affectation 502 

7.  Propriety 503 


PART   IV. 
CONCOMITANT  TO  THE  SERMON, 


CHAPTER   I. 

DEVOTIONAL    EXERCISES. 

Nature  and  Importance  of  Devotional  Exercises 613 

g  I.        Reading  of  Scripture 515 

1.  Selecting  a  Scripture-Lesson 515 

2.  The  Artof  Reading  the  Scriptui-e-Lesson 517 

3.  Preparatiou  of  the  Reading- Lesson 522 

I  n.      Hymns 523 

Power  of  Music > 523 

Congregational  and  Choir  Singing 525 


xiv  Co7ife7its. 


PAOK 


The  Effect  of  the  Song-service  Depends  on 

1.  The  Kind  of  Hymns  Used 525 

2.  Manner  of  Reading  Hymns 529 

I  111.     Public  Prayer 531 

1.  General  Requisites  for  Public  Prayer 531 

2.  Important  Qualities  of  Public  Prayer 533 

(1.)    As  to  its  Substance 533 

(2.)     As  to  its  Method 534 

(3.)     As  to  its  Language  and  Stj'le 535 

(4.)    As  to  its  Tone  and  Utterance 53G 

(5.)     As  to  its  Length 537 

§  rv.      The  Benediction..... 537 

CHAPTER  IL 

MISCELLANEOUS    ADDRESSES. 

Oeneral  Remarks - - , 540 

§  I.        Platform  Addresses 541 

Requisites  for 542 

^  II.       Prayer- meeting  Addresses 544 

1.  Importance  of  Preparation 544 

Method  of  Preparation 545 

2.  The  Selecting  of  Topics 545 

List  of  Uniform  Topics 548 

3.  General  Character  of  a  Prayer-meeting  Address 549 

§  III.     Pulpit  Addresses 551 

I.  Exhortation 551 

Following  the  Sermon 551 

Substitute  for  the  Sermon 552 

Character  of.  553 

II.  Lay  Preaching 553 

Duty  of 553 

Brief  History  of 554 

Necessity  of 555 

Objections  to,  Answered 555 

Character  of 557 

m.    Bible-Readings 557 

Introduction  of 557 

Definition  and  Description  of 557 

Examples  of '. 558 

Preparation  of 5G2 

Delivery  of 564 

Advantages  of 565 

Concluding  Remarks 566 

Index 567 


Parx  I 


The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 


Part  I. 

PREPARATORY 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  PREACHER. 

The  Title  Defined — Dignity  of  the  Preacher's  OfQce  —  Preaching,  hia 
Chief  Duty  —  His  Theme,  Christ  —  His  Relation  to  Scientific  and 
Popular  Skepticism. 

§   I.      THE    TITLE   DEFINED. 

The  'preacher  and  his  sermon,  —  not  the  pastor  and  his 
parish.  These  two  phrases,  while  they  together  compose 
the  work  and  office  of  the  Christian  ministry,  yet  divide  it 
into  two  portions  clearly  distinct  from  each  other.  The 
minister  is  both  a  preacher  and  a  pastor;  he  constructs 
sermons  and  builds  up  parishes;  but  the  nature,  qualifica- 
tions, and  duties  of  the  one  are  so  difierent  from  those 
of  the  other,  that  the  pastor  and  preacher  often  appears 
more  like  two  men  than  like  one  man,  when  the  quality 
and  efficiency  of  his  preaching  and  parochial  abilities  are 
viewed  and  compared.  Herein  is  an  anomaly,  that  the 
same  man  should  be  one  thing  in  the  pulpit  and  another 
in  the  parish ;  and  yet  it  is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  not 
every  good  preacher  is  also  a  good  pastor,  and  vice  versa. 
To  be  equally  successful  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  parish  is 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.     It  is  not  our  purpose 

17 


1 8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

here  to  account  for  this  inequality,  but  merely  to  state  a 
fact,  and  thus  limit  our  subject  to  one  hemisphere  of  the 
Christian  ministry — 'preaching^  leaving  the  other  half  of 
the  work  for  some  future  task. 

The,  preacher  and  his  sermon, —  not  a  preacher  and  his 
sermon.  There  are  preachers  many  and  sermons  many, 
ranging  over  every  degree  of  quality  from  the  most  inco- 
herent postil  of  a  mere  novice  in  the  profession  to  the 
most  perfect  discourse  of  a  pulpit  champion.  A  preacher, 
a  sermon,  may  stand  for  any  possible  or  imaginable  kind, 
like  the  algebraic  expression  of  an  unknown  quantity. 
It  is,  however,  the  province  of  homiletics  to  describe  the 
preacher,  the  sermon;  to  hold  up  a  models  constructed  out 
of  the  best  of  the  miscellaneous  material  and  examples 
which  the  pulpit  has  produced,  and  present  it  as  a  standard 
of  excellence  to  be  imitated  by  all  ministers.  It  is  there- 
fore more  ideal  than  real,  as  every  scientific  treatise  must 
necessarily  be  which  gives  the  rules  and  principles  of  an 
art. 

Again,  the  preacher  and  Ms  sermon  suggests  a  resem- 
blance between  the  two.  The  sermon  is  much  like  the 
preacher  because  it  is  Afs,  the  product  of  his  own  brain, 
the  offspring  of  his  own  character. 

There  is  a  difierence  between  possessing  a  thing  by  pro- 
creation and  by  appropriation.  In  the  former  case,  there 
is  a  resemblance  between  the  creature  and  its  creator,  but 
none  whatever  in  the  latter  case. 

The  artist  paints  a  picture  from  his  own  mental  concep- 
tion. It  is  his  in  the  proper  sense,  and  can  never  be  trans- 
ferred or  deeded  to  another,  for  it  bears  the  semblance  of 
its  author.  The  child  is  like  its  parent;  the  book  is  like 
its  author.  It  is  a  universal  law  of  generation,  that  each 
shall  produce  "after  its  kind." 

(  Preaching,  which  is  lui  abbreviiited  form  of  the  title  of  tliis  trejitise. 


The  Title  Defined.  19 

But  the  material  wealth  which  a  man  possesses  is  his 
in  a  much  inferior  sense.  He  has  it  by  assignment,  and 
becomes  its  manager  rather  than  its  owner.  It  is  no  part 
of  himself,  and  therefore  bears  no  likeness  to  its  possessor. 
Nothing  is  really  ours  except  the  propagation  of  our  own 
mind,  the  offspring  of  our  own  individual  self,  which  re- 
sembles the  ego  of  its  origin.  The  picture,  the  book,  the 
invention,  the  slave,  the  mansion,  in  the  higher  sense,  can 
never  become  the  real  property  of  another  by  purchase, 
because  we  can  not  buy  the  artist,  the  author,  the  inventor, 
the  parent,  the  architect,  who  produced  it,  and  whose 
image  it  bears,  and  whose  equal  we  could  not  produce. 
Hence  it  becomes  ours  in  a  secondary  sense  by  appropria- 
tion, and  not  in  the  primary  sense  by  procreation.  Posses- 
sion by  personal  creation  is  the  basis  on  which  rests  the 
proposition  that  the  sermon  resembles  the  preacher.  It  is 
an  emanation  of  his  soul  developed  into  a  thing  of  form, 
proportion,  and  almost  life  itself,  and  becomes  akin  to  him 
as  soon  as  he  breathes  into  it  the  breath  of  his  life. 

The  sermon  resembles  its  author,  first,  and  chiefl.y,  in  iht 
mode  and  character  of  its  thought.  The  individuality  of  his 
intellect,  the  depth  or  superficiality  of  his  reasoning,  the 
peculiarities  of  his  doctrine,  and  the  degree  of  his  convic- 
tions, are  all  transmitted  to  his  sermon.  The  method  of 
his  thinking  and  inventing  will  also  be  seen  in  its  plan  and 
arrangement.  It  is  a  mental  photograph  of  its  author, 
and  made  after  the  pattern  of  his  mind,  or,  in  the  language 
of  the  phrenologist,  an  exact  impression  of  his  head. 

It  resembles  its  author,  secondly,  in  the  language.  There 
are  certain  modes  of  expression  and  idiom,  a  style  of 
diction,  and  fullness  or  scantiness  of  vocabulary,  which 
distinguish  each  speaker's  conversation  and  composition. 
This  character  of  language,  when  added  to  that  of  thought, 
makes  the  resemblance  between  the  sermon  and  the  preach- 


20  TJie  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermon. 

er  more  intimate.  It  is  in  this  way  that  many  anonymous 
letters  and  documents  can  be  traced  to  their  true  authors; 
and  upon  this  kind  of  internal  evidence  is  the  epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  ascribed  to  Paul,  because  its  style  of  thought 
and  language  possesses  a  Pauline  character. 

It  resembles  its  author,  in  the  third  place,  in  its  moral 
tone.  There  are  degrees  of  piety  as  well  as  degrees  of 
intelligence.  ITot  all  preachers  are  equally  holy,  devoted, 
and  consecrated  to  the  truth.  Who  would  say  that  thia 
does  not  have  a  marked  influence  upon  the  discourse, 
infusing  it  with  the  most  evangelical  and  saving  truth,  or 
giving  it  a  formal,  scientific,  or  even  secular  tone,  accord- 
ing to  the  spiritual  temperature  of  the  sermonizer?  A 
man's  religious  status  will  be  stamped  upon  his  sermon. 

Lastly,  we  might  add  that  it  resembles  its  author  in  its 
manner  of  delivery.  As  a  religious  discourse  can  not  be  a 
Bermon  until  it  is  spoken,  as  will  be  stated  hereafter,*  its 
delivery  is  part  of  its  general  composition,  and  will  par- 
take of  the  vocal  capacity,  force,  earnestness,  and  emotions 
of  the  speaker. 

From  these  points  of  analogy,  we  see  that  the  most 
natural  and  easy  thing  is  to  preach  sermons  which  are  like 
ourselves;  and  that  the  most  unnatural  and  difficult  thing 
is  to  preach  another  man's  sermon  without  detection  that 
it  is  not  our  own;  for  its  kind  of  thought,  language,  and 
unction  will  betray  our  plagiarism,  and  reveal  the  fact 
that  it  resembles  some  one  else  more  than  ourselves.  So 
intimate  and  intermingled  is  the  resemblance  between  the 
preacher  and  his  sermon  that  in  a  treatise  on  preaching 
we  can  scarcely  speak  of  the  one  without  also  speaking  of 
the  other,  since  both  are  blended  in  the  subject  of  homi- 
letics.  It  is  a  kind  of  bi-unity.  Hence  the  title:  The 
Preacher  and  his  Sermon. 

I  Part  II.,  Chapter  I.,  g  I. 


The   Title  Defiiied.  2i 

Once  more,  the  preacher  and  his  sermon  suggests  also  a 
contrast  between  the  two. 

If  the  two  are  similar  to  each  other,  and  together  form 
the  subject  of  homiletics,  they  are  also  different  from  each 
other.  A  similarity  is  not  an  identity.  The  preacher  is 
not  the  sermon,  and  the  sermon  is  not  the  preacher,  just  as 
the  soul  is  distinct  from  the  body,  though  both  are  neces- 
sary to  constitute  one  human  being.  The  sacred  discourse, 
viewed  separately  and  independently  of  its  author,  is  a 
transient  creature,  living  only  during  the  brief  time  of  its 
delivery.  We  listen  to  it  for  awhile,  are  comforted  and 
blessed  under  its  sound;  then  it  passes  away  forever,  like 
the  moments  of  our  life,  no  more  to  return  except  through 
memory,  while  its  author — the  preacher — lives  on  to  repeat 
his  efforts  again  and  again,  and  thus  becomes  the  progen- 
itor of  a  large  family  of  sermonic  children. 

The  preacher  is  also  distinguished  from  his  sermon  by 
his  superiority  to  his  sermon.  Philosophically,  this  must 
be  the  relation  between  every  creature  and  its  creator. 
Occasionally,  in  the  happiest  moods  and  under  a  special 
endowment  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  se»^mon  may  surpass 
the  preacher;  but  this  is  not  the  rule.  As  the  law  that 
forbids  water  to  rise  naturally  above  its  own  level  can  be 
overcome  by  mechanical  means,  so  a  supernatural  influence 
may  temporarily  lift  a  preacher's  eloquence  above  his 
natural  level,  and  bring  something  extraordinary  out  of 
something  ordinary.  For  this  he  should  pray.  But  thib 
is  not  a  natural  result.  It  is  more  natural  to  find  most 
of  his  eflbrts  below  his  level,  and  to  be  an  imperfect 
expression  of  what  he  thinks  and  feels.  To  transfer  a 
fac- simile  of  what  is  in  him  to  the  mind  of  the  hearer 
through  the  aid  of  language  is  almost  an  impossibility. 
There  is  nearly  always  something  left  unexpressed  which 
lie  can  not  communicate,  —  a  reserve-force,  an  inexhausted 


22  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

fertility,  a  superior  character,  which  in  ahiiost  every  case 
makes  the  preacher  greater  than  his  sermon.' 

There  being,  then,  a  separation  as  well  as  an  affinity  be- 
tween a  sermon  and  its  author,  somewhat  similar  to  that 
between  the  science  and  the  art  of  preaching,  for  which 
homiletics  is  the  technical  term,  we  prefer  to  choose  the 
title,  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon,  as  the  most  concrete 
description  of  a  treatise  on  the  theory  and  practice  of 
preaching. 

But  in  this  initial  chapter  we  wish  to  speak  more  par- 
ticularly of  the  preacher;  .especially  as  he  stands  related 
to  some  of  the  more  important  duties  of  his  office. 

He  is  Christ's  embassador.  "  JSTow  then  we  are  embas- 
sadors for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us* 
we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God." 
(II.  Cor.  V.  20.)  Here  he  is  clearly  set  forth  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  great  King,  who  is  to  carry  forward  the 
work  which  he  here  began  by  his  own  personal  ministry 
while  in  the  flesh.  The  interests  he  is  authorized  to  rep- 
resent and  promote  are  divine.  Hence  he  is  properly 
called  "a  divine,"  "a  man  of  God,"  "reverend,"  etc.,  which 
indicate  the  source  of  his  high  authority  and  appoint- 
ment. In  one  sense  every  Christian  should  be  a  preacher 
for  Christ;  but  the  right  of  an  embassador,  acting  in 
Christ's  stead,  is  an  honor  conferred  upon  the  select  few 
chosen  from  among  men  by  the  great  Sovereign  himself. 
God  might  have  converted  the  world  through  the  preach- 
ing of  Christ,  or  appointed  an  angelic  and  sinless  apostle- 
ehip  to  take  up  the  work  where  Christ  left  it  and  carry  it 
on  to  its  completion;  but  there  seems  to  be  a  divine  fitness^ 
in  prosecuting  the  redemption  of  the  world  through  hu- 
man instrumentality.     "A  human  intellect,  human  sensi- 

1  "The  man  is  felt  to  be  greater  than  what  ho  says.    It  is  a  pan  of  which  he  is  th«.  . 
vhole;  and  his  personality  is  behind  his  speech." — John  Hall  in  YaiL      . '4*res. 


Preaching,  His  Chief  Duty.  23 

bilities,  a  human  voice,  are  chosen  before  the  trump  of 
archangels." 

The  preacher  is  to  fill  a  wonderful  sphere  of  influence. 
"Were  the  pulpit  silenced,  and  no  one  left  to  proclaim  the 
gospel,  the  world  would  soon  lapse  into  heathenism;  but 
ministers  become  guardians  of  public  virtue  and  propaga- 
tors of  the  true  spirit  of  progress.  It  has  been  observed 
that  nearly  all  our  colleges  were  originated  by  ministers, 
and  that  many  of  our  cities  and  towns  were  founded  by 
them  in  the  wilderness.^  They  stimulate  thoughtfulness, 
morality,  manliness,  Christianity,  and  all  the  virtues  of  a 
community  which  are  the  forerunners  of  its  advancement. 
They  elevate  society  and  radiate  an  influence  that  lives  the 
longest  and  deepest  in  the  hearts  of  its  recipients.  Every 
one  born  into  the  kingdom  of  God  and  kept  there  through 
their  labors  is  a  lasting  monument  of  their  efforts,  living 
to  perpetuate  the  greatness  of  their  work  not  only  to  the 
third  and  fourth  generation,  but  through  the  eternal  ages. 

The  pulpit  is  destined  to  be  a  perpetual  agency.  llToth- 
ing  can  supersede  its  necessity  or  take  its  place.  "  The 
long  line  of  preachers  extends  in  unbroken  succession  from 
Christ  himself  to  the  present  hour.  A  line,  did  I  say? 
More  than  a  line,  a  pyramid,  of  which  he  is  the  apex, 
which  each  succeeding  year  rises  in  altitude  and  widens  its 
base — and  will  rise  and  will  widen  until  it  covers  all  lands, 
and  the  living  preacher  shall  be  seen  and  heard  by  every 
child  of  Adam  and  Eve  on  the  globe."  ^ 

§  II.  PREACHING,  THE  CHIEF  DUTY  OF  THE  PREACHER, 

Every  professional  office  is  essentially  an  office  of  one 
idea.     That  of  the  physician  is  the  understanding  of  dis- 

j  "  New  Haven,  by  John  Davenport;  Hartford,  by  Thomas  Hooker  and  Samuel  Stone; 
Providence,  by  Roger  Williams;  Salem,  by  Francis  Higginson;  Cambridge  and  Dorchee- 
tei    ly  John  Warham." — Hoppin's  Homiletics,  page  30. 
Binhop  M.  Simpson's  Yaie  Lectures. 


24  The  Preacher   and  His  Sermon. 

ease;  that  of  the  lawyer,  the  law;  that  of  the  painter,  the 
picture;  that  of  the  preacher,  the  sermon.  Preaching 
is  his  first  and  most  important  work.  We  would  not 
underrate  the  value  and  importance  of  his  pastoral  duties, 
which  are  necessary  adjuncts  to  preaching  in  order  to 
success  in  the  ministerial  ofiice,  and  which  too  often  are 
slighted  or  very  imperfectly  performed.  But  by  asserting 
that  preaching  is  his  chief  duty,  we  make  it  the  funda- 
mental and  central  work  of  the  Christian  minister,  de- 
serving the  concentration  of  the  sum  total  of  his  efforts. 
Every  other  duty  of  his  office  is  subordinate  and  auxili- 
ary to  it.  Even  the  whole  round  of  parochial  duties  is 
performed  for  the  purpose  of  learning  how  to  adapt  his 
preaching  to  his  hearers,  or  as  a  supplement  to  the  Sun- 
day sermon.  Indeed,  everything  that  deserves  to  engage 
his  efforts  is  made  to  contribute  to  his  power  in  preaching 
the  word;  and  nothing  extraneous,  such  as  authorship, 
lecturing,  or  teaching,  must  interfere  with  or  usurp  the 
place  and  supremacy  of  the  sermon. 

Preaching  is  the  appointed  means  of  saving  the  world; 
and  the  oft-repeated  scriptural  injunction  is,  "Preach  the 
word,"  "lie  charged  us  to  preach  unto  the  people."  "He 
sent  them  forth  to  preach."  "  Christ  sent  me  to  preach." 
And  even  our  great  Example,  Christ  himself,  was  "  anoint- 
ed to  preach."  The  most  successful  way  of  awakening 
men  to  a  knowledge  of  sin,  of  leading  them  to  repentance 
and  faith  in  Christ,  and  of  building  up  the  church  in  all 
her  doctrines  and  influence,  is  by  preaching.  True,  the 
prayer  -  meeting,  class  -  meeting,  Sunday  -  school,  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  etc.,  are  indispensable  insti- 
tutions of  Christianity;  but  these  are  all  moved  by  the 
pulpit,  which  becomes  the  mainspring  in  the  whole  work- 
ing machinery  of  church-enterprise,  and  therefore  becomes 
the  principal  lever  and  source  of  power  to  the  minister. 


Christ,  the  Preacher  s  Theme.  25 

In  this  busy  age  of  the  world,  when  there  exist  so  many 
lepartments  and  divisions  of  labor,  each  demanding  the 
best  skill,  men  must  become  specialists,  and  devote  their 
best  endeavors  to  the  perfection  of  their  special  art.  "  Life 
is  80  short,  and  man's  powers  so  limited,  that  he  can  do 
but  one  thing  well,  and  the  preacher  should  therefore  not 
expect  to  do  aught  else  but  preach."  ^  He  can  aiford  to 
neglect  many  things  in  order  that  he  may  become  profi- 
cient in  one  thing.  "  In  the  secular  sphere,  it  is  conceded 
that  the  powerful  minds  are  those  who  rigorously  confine 
themselves  to  one  department  of  thought.  Newton  culti- 
vated science,  and  neglected  literature.  Kant  wrought  in 
the  quicksilver  mines  of  metaphysics  for  fifty  years,  and 
was  happy  and  mighty  in  his  one  work.  These  men  made 
epochs,  because  they  did  not  career  over  the  whole  encyclo- 
pedia."^ And  if  preachers  wish  to  increase  the  efficiency 
of  their  great  office,  they  must  centralize  their  efibrts  more 
vigorously, —  not  by  contracting  the  circle  of  their  study 
and  activity,  but  by  bringing  the  result  of  their  study  and 
activity  in  a  focus  of  power  upon  the  pulpit.  They  will 
find  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  to  do  to  make  them- 
selves "  able  ministers  of  the  word." 

§    m.      CHRIST,  .THE   PREACHER's   THEME. 

In  secular  oratory,  themes  are  continually  changing  with 
times  and  circumstances.  In  preaching,  the  theme  is  one. 
The  ministry  of  the  gospel  is  essentially  a  ministry  of  out 
text  only — "Jesus  Christ  the  Lord." 

The  "gospel"  which  we  are  commanded  to  preach,  in  its 
truest  sense,  embraces  the  life,  work,  character,  and  king- 
dom of  the  great  Messiah.  Says  Hoppin,  "  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  the  gospel  is  Christ.  It  is  wholly  and  entirely 
Ohrist."    And  in  another  place  he  continues,  "As  Christ  is 

I  Hoppin'3  Homileties,  page  265. 

3  Shedd's  Homileties  and  Postural  Theology,  page  247. 


26  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

the  life  and  center  of  divine  truth,  and  thus  must  be  the 
end  of  all  preaching,  how  can  he  be  really  absent  from  any 
true  sermon?"  Viuet  remarks,  "In  every  sermon  we  must 
either  start  from  Christ,  or  come  to  him."  And  Murphy,  in 
his  "Pastoral  Theology,"  adds,  "A  sermon  which  does  not 
in  some  way  contain  the  salvation  of  Christ,  can  not  with 
any  propriety  be  called  a  gospel  sermon."  There  is  not 
wanting  an  abundance  of  eminent  testimony  agreeing  in 
these  statements. 

But  how  shall  the  minister  understand  and  apply 
the  oft-repeated  appeal  to  "preach  Christ?"  Must  every 
text  mention  or  directly  refer  to  him?  Or  should  every 
sermon  devote  a  portion  to  this  great  theme,  whatever  the 
text  may  be?  Evidently  not.  To  learn  how  to  preach 
him  we  must  study  him  as  presented  in  the  Bible. 

That  book  tells  us  only  one  grand  story;  and  that  is  the 
story  of  Jesus.  God  has  given  us  a  brief  history  of  his 
Son, — not  in  the  four  gospels  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke, 
and  John,  for  therein  is  found  only  a  sketch  of  his  incar- 
nation. One  must  read  the  whole  Bible  to  know  who 
Christ  was.  The  main  object  of  the  whole  canon  of  inspi- 
ration was  to  bring  out  in  bold  relief,  and  place  upon  the 
foreground, the  life  and  work  of  Christ.  If  there  are  other 
incidents  and  characters  woven  into  the  fabric  of  our 
gospel-theme,  they  are  only  incidentals, — the  foliage  around 
and  upon  the  Tree  of  Life,  the  root  and  stem  of  which  is 
the  Son  of  David.  Christ  is  the  subject  and  hero  of  the 
Bible.  We  read,  it  may  be  often  unconsciously,  about 
him  from  Genesis  to  Eevelation.  In  the  Pentateuch,  in 
the  major  and  minor  prophets,  in  the  Psalms  and  the  Can- 
ticles, in  the  Gospels  and  in  the  Epistles,  and  in  Revelation, 
throughout  he  is  wrapped  up  or  disguised  in  a  multitude 
of  types,  shadows,  prophecies,  and  parables;  and  he  must 
be  a  dull  reader  and  a  superficial   observer  who  does  not 


Christ,  the  Preachers   Theme.  27 

see  Christ  shining  out  of  every  page  and  gleaming  forth 
from  every  chapter  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  The  entire 
book  is  a  unit  upon  the  theme  of  a  great,  bleeding  Re- 
deemer. The  Old  Testament  is  but  a  preface  to  the  ITew. 
It  introduces  to  the  world  "  Him  of  whom  Moses  in  the 
law  and  the  prophets  did  write."  And  our  Lord  himself, 
after  his  resurrection,  taught  his  disciples  how  to  interpret 
the  Word  when,  "beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets, 
he  expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things 
concerning  himself."  The  biblical  record  is  a  closely  con- 
nected history  of  our  one  theme.  Take  him  out  of  the 
Bible  and  you  would  have  an  empty  cage,  a  hollow  shell; 
rob  it  of  its  hero  and  you  have  a  palace  without  a  prince, 
an  organ  without  a  sound.  Blot  out  this  great  luminary 
and  humanity  would  be  a  failure,  the  world  a  dark,  dreary 
wilderness,  and  eternity  a  vast  horror.  To  preach  Christ, 
then,  is  to  preach  in  the  spirit,  tone,  life,  and  substance  of 
scriptural  truth  as  it  relates  to  the  person,  work,  and  infi- 
nite blessings  of  Christ.  The  whole  body  of  sacred  truth, 
in  its  form  of  history,  poetry,  experience,  and  philosophy, 
must  be  stripped  of  its  external  drapery  and  made  to  reveal 
the  doctrine  of  the  cross,  "the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus." 
Thus  nearly  every  passage  of  Sacred  Writ  has  something 
of  this  theme.  "  Don't  you  know,"  said  a  Welsh  minister, 
"  that  from  every  town  and  village  and  hamlet  in  England 
there  is  a  road  to  London?  So  from  every  text  in  script- 
ure there  is  a  road  to  the  great  metropolis  of  the  Script- 
ures, that  is,  Christ."  "  I  never  yet  found  a  text  that  had 
not  a  road  to  Christ,"  said  Spurgeon.  As  the  sun  in  our 
sohir  system  holds  and  guides  all  the  planets  and  sat- 
ellites, so  Christ  is  the  center  of  our  Christian  system — a 
system  of  grace  and  doctrine;  and  without  hira  our  holy 
religion  would  be  shattered  to  atoms  and  torn  into  shreds. 
Our     antagonists,     Strauss,    Renan,     Paulus,     Schenkel, 


2  8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Baur,  and  others,  understood  this,  and  their  stoutest  blows 
were  directed  against  the  person  of  Christ.  "Why?  Because 
he  is  the  Rock  upon  which  the  Church  is  built,  and  if  they 
had  succeeded  in  shaking  our  faith  in  the  divine  Son  of 
Mary,  down  would  have  toppled  the  whole  structure  of  our 
Christianity.  To  declare  the  fullness  and  freeness  of 
Christ's  salvation,  redemption,  faith  in  him,  regeneration, 
sanctification,  and  everlasting  happiness  through  him, 
must  be  the  great  burden  of  true  gospel  preaching.  In 
this  spirit  the  apostles  "  went  everywhere  preaching 
the  word;"  and  Paul,  the  representative  apostle,  says,  "  We 
preach  Christ  crucified;"  "I  preach  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ;"  "We  preach  not  ourselves,  but  Christ  Jesus 
the  Lord."  Here  we  have  his  theme:  1.  Jesus;  2.  Christ; 
3.  The  Lord;  Jesus  being  his  human  name,  given  him  by 
his  foster-father;  Christ,  meaning  anointed^  his  divine 
title;  f>nd  Lord  [aduiiai,  the  old  plural  form  for  the 
Greek  x\o(oc^  being  the  Jewish  name  for  Jehovah.  Paul 
preached  the  humanity,  divinity,  and  trinity  of  Christ. 
This  was  his  whole  system  of  theology,  of  which  he  "  deter- 
mined to  know  nothing  else."  To  him  Jesus  Christ  him- 
self was  the  gospel.  The  man  was  the  doctrine;  the 
doctrine  was  the  man.  To  him  the  first,  last,  and  essential 
was,  objectively,  Christ  himself,  and,  subjectively,  faith 
in  him. 

And  the  same  kind  of  preaching  needed  in  Paul's  day  is 
needed  in  our  day.  Though  we  live  in  other  times,  have 
new  customs  and  modes  of  preaching,  we  have  no  new 
gospel;  and  the  preacher,  to  be  true  to  the  charge  commit- 
ted to  him,  must,  in  the  midst  of  a  changing  world  and 
vacillating  creeds,  be  an  unerring  compass  upon  the  ship 
of  Zion,  always  pointing,  like  a  John  the  Baptist,  to  the 
Pole-Star  of  our  faith,  no  matter  what  way  the  wind 
blows,  how  high  the  waves  dash,  or  which  way  the  ship 
turns. 


Christ,  the  Preacher  s   Theme.  29 

On  the  importance  of  the  preacher's  great  theme,  South 
says:  "1.  He  is  text;  and  all  preaching  beside  Christ  is 
beside  the  text:  therefore  keep  to  your  text.  2.  Christ 
is  the  very  foundation  and  subject  matter  of  preaching;  and 
all  preaching  without  Christ  is  building  castles  in  the  air. 
3.  Christ  is  the  life  and  soul  of  preaching;  and  preaching 
without  him  is  like  a  body  without  life  and  spirit.  4. 
Christ  is  the  great  end  of  preaching;  preaching  is  to  mani- 
fest his  glory;  and  if  Christ  is  not  preached,  the  great  end 
is  lost." 

"  A  religion  without  a  Savior  is  the  temple  without  the 
Shekinah,  and  its  worshipers  will  all  desert  it.  Few  men 
in  the  world  have  less  pretensions,  as  a  preacher,  than  my- 
self— my  voice,  my  look,  my  manner,  all  of  a  very  com- 
mon kind;  yet  I  thank  God  there  is  scarcely  a  corner  in 
our  little  church  where  you  might  not  find  a  streaming 
eye  and  a  beating  heart.  The  reason  is  that  I  speak  of 
Christ;  and  if  there  is  not  a  charm  in  the  name,  there  is  in 
the  train  of  fears  and  hopes  and  joys  which  it  carries 
along  with  it.  The  people  feel,  and  then  they  must 
listen."  1 

In  confining  our  preaching  to  Christ,  we  are  not  circum- 
scribed or  compelled  to  repeat  the  same  thing  about  our 
theme  from  want  of  variety.  In  reality  we  have  the 
whole  range  of  truth  through  which  to  present  the  one 
great  theme  in  its  new  and  various  aspects.  We  may  take 
truth  from  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  cross,  or 
from  the  remotest  domain  of  Christianity,  and  when  its  re- 
lation to  Christ  and  his  salvation  is  exhibited,  Christ  is 
preached.  Thus  we  may  discuss  a  great  variety  of 
topics  under  one  great  theme. 

I  CunHiDgham. 


30  The  Preacher  a?td  His  Sermon. 

§   IV.    HIS     RELATION  TO   SCIENTIFIC   AND    POPULAR   SKEPTICISM. 

The  gospel  always  was  opposed  or  ridiculed  by  false 
philosophies  and  hostile  heresies.  The  apostles  had  to 
contend  with  Stoic  and  Epicurean  infidelity  which  de- 
nounced the  gospel  as  "  foolishness."  Soon  came  Celsus, 
Julian,  and  Lucian,  pouring  out  a  flood  of  satire  against 
Christianity  and  its  founder;  and  not  long  ago  Strauss  and 
Renan  assailed  the  divinity  of  Christ.  But  the  present 
stands  unprecedented  in  the  opposition  which  the  Bible  re- 
ceives from  scientific  investigation  or  speculation;  and  the 
breach  between  revelation  and  scientific  culture  has  never 
been  wider  and  deeper  than  now.  Such  a  state  of  un- 
friendliness to  the  Bible  demands  a  consideration  of  the 
question,  What  has  the  preacher  to  do  in  this  scientific 
conflict? 

One  thing  is  certain.  The  preacher  must  not  ignore 
this  scientific  babel  of  confusion  as  a  matter  of  no  inter- 
est to  him.  Instead  of  becoming  alarmed,  with  serious 
forebodings  as  to  the  result  of  this  cultured  opposition  to 
Christianity,  he  should  welcome  the  revival  and  progress  of 
scientific  knowledge;  for  "the  truth  of  revelation  can  not 
be  imperiled  by  the  progress  of  true  science.  *  *  *  * 
The  labors  of  some  modern  scientists  are  like  the  strokes 
of  giants  guided  by  a  higher  intelligence  than  their 
own,  so  that  they  build  better  than  they  know.  But  in 
spite  of  the  atheistic  intent  impelling  their  activity,  *  * 
*  *  they  are  none  the  less  the  authors  of  spiritual 
light."  ^  Nothing  can  be  feared  from  the  investigation  of 
facts,  for  facts  are  unchangeable  and  permanent;  only 
theories  concerning  them  are  changeable  and  evanescent. 

This  religio-scientific  contest  will  undoubtedly  termi- 
nate in  a  more  valuable  contribution  to  the  efliciency  of 

I  Doppin's  Homiletics,  page  472. 


Scientific  and  Popular  Skepticism.  31 

the  pulpit;  and  the  Christian  teacher  may  injure  his  influ- 
ence or  the  cause  he  desires  to  promote,  hy  a  willful  igno- 
rance of  the  position  of  scientific  inquiry  in  this  day  and 
the  results  of  its  investigation.  An  acquaintance  with 
every  new  development  of  truth  is  important  to  the 
preacher  in  order  to  sustain  his  reputation  as  a  member  of 
one  of  the  learned  professions,  and  an  educated  member  of 
society;  for  the  theology  which  he  preaches  claims  to  be 
the  highest  and  noblest  science,  to  which  every  other  sci- 
ence is  tributary  and  auxiliary.  It  also  throws  light  upon 
scripture  interpretation,  modifying  within  certain  limits 
our  modern  philosophy  and  exegesis,  which  must  always 
yield  to  new  developments  in  the  advancement  of  truth. 
^'  The  only  change  that  can  improve  theology  comes  from 
improvement  in  the  interpretation  of  the  language  of  the 
Scriptures,  of  which  theology  is  the  systematic  expres- 
sion."^ 

One  of  the  leading  Christian  scientists.  Dr.  Dawson,  has 
well  said,  "Above  all,  those  who  aim  to  be  Christian 
teachers  should  be  fully  armed  to  contend  for  the  truth, 
and  should  have  a  clear  and  intelligent  appreciation  of  the 
weapons  and  tactics  which  may  be  employed  against  it. 
They  should  also  comprehend  the  habits  of  thought  of 
specialists  in  science,  and  their  followers,  and  the  aspects  in 
which  religious  truth  may  present  itself  to  their  minds. 
Further,  they  should  be  prepared  to  take  broad  views  of 
the  relations  between  spiritual  and  natural  things,  and 
should  have  their  minds  attuned  to  the  harmonies  which 
exist  in  God's  revelation  of  himself  in  nature  and  in  his 
"Word;  otherwise  they  may  fail  to  attain  the  highest  use- 
fulness, or  to  be  worthy  expounders  of  a  revelation  from 
him  who  is  at  once  the  God  of  nature  and  of  grace."  But 
in  urging  a  study  of  scientific  investigation  we  do  not 

z  Frinceton  Review,  January,  1879. 


32  The  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermon. 

mean  that  the  preacher  should  become  an  original  investi- 
gator and  scientific  specialist,  but  by  a  kind  of  eclecticism 
make  himself  master  of  the  results  of  the  investigation  of 
specialists  whose  lives  are  devoted  to  scientific  research. 
Let  him  keep  his  eye  upon  the  scientific  bulletin-board, 
and  especially  acquaint  himself  with  the  critiques  which 
these  theories  have  called  forth  from  orthodox  scholars. 

But  the  main  question  of  interest  is,  how  shall  the 
preacher  in  the  pulpit  deal  with  the  scientific  skepticism 
of  the  day?  In  the  first  place,  let  him  not  attempt  to 
reply  to  any  such  skepticism  in  his  preaching;  for  this 
work  properly  belongs  to  the  press  and  the  platform,  and 
not  to  the  duties  of  the  ministerial  ofiice.  Besides,  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  the  average  preacher,  whose 
strength  and  vocation  lie  in  another  sphere,  should  be 
able,  upon  their  own  ground,  to  cope  with  eminent  scien- 
tists who  have  devoted  their  whole  life  and  labor  in 
these  special  departments  of  work.  What  folly  it  would 
be,  while  engaged  in  preaching,  to  attack  the  categories  of 
Kant  and  Hegel,  to  discuss  the  fallacies  of  Herbert  Spen- 
cer, or  to  follow  Tyndall,  Huxley,  Darwin,  and  Hackel  into 
the  minutice  of  their  teachings.  Such  may  be  the  mission 
of  our  scholarly  laymen,  who  should  buckle  on  the  armor 
for  battle  with  the  enemy,  and  go  forth  to  slay  these  scien- 
tific Goliaths  who  defy  the  armies  of  the  living  God.  But 
if  a  physician,  however  skilled  in  his  profession  of  medi- 
cine, should  venture  to  discuss  the  principles  of  jurispru- 
dence with  a  jurist,  he  would  likely  be  worsted  if  not 
defeated.  So  the  pulpit,  by  laying  aside  its  own  function 
and  going  into  other  fields  to  wrestle  with  champions  of 
error,  may  share  a  similar  fate,  and  return  with  broken 
lance  and  bruised  limb.  "  One  should  be  sure  before  he 
raises  the  devil  that  he  is  able  to  slay  him." 

But   even  if  a   minister  should  make  controversy  with. 


Sciejitific  and  Popular  Skepticism.  33 

scientific  skepticism  a  specialty,  and  could  fully  meet  all 
its  arguments,  a  course  of  scientific  disputation  in  the  'pul- 
jpit  would  not  be  judicious;  for  the  very  opponents  against 
whom  he  directs  his  blows  are  not  usually  his  hearers,  and 
will  not  so  much  as  learn  that  anything  was  ever  said  in 
reply  by  the  preacher.  The  hearers  of  the  gospel  are  gen- 
erally believers  in  the  Christian  faith,  and  know  little 
about-  the  real  objections  of  cultured  skepticism.  One  of 
the  weak  points  in  Albert  Barnes'  preaching  was  that 
argument  against  infidelity  was  "poured  out  in  profusion, 
often  when,  probably,  not  a  hearer  was  present  who  could 
be  directly  benefited  by  it."  ^ 

Sometimes  the  popular  audience  may  be  harmed  and 
the  truth  weakened  by  reviewing  infidelity  in  their  pres- 
ence. "When  a  great  deal  of  time  is  taken  to  confute 
imputations  and  answer  objections,  the  impression  is  made 
that  the  cause,  if  not  exactly  a  weak  one,  is  nevertheless 
vulnerable.  The  feeling  is  awakened  in  many  minds  that 
the  truth  of  Christianity  is,  after  all,  a  matter  very  much 
litigated;  that  there  are  arguments  on  either  hand;  and 
such  as  distrust  their  power  to  hold  the  balance  are,  in  a 
degree,  bewildered  and  thrown  into  uncertainty."^  The 
pulpit  may  thus,  with  the  best  motive  to  the  contrary, 
seduce  men  into  disbelief  of  every  kind. 

But  although  the  preacher  in  the  pulpit  should  abstain 
from  open  war  against  cultured  skepticism  by  the  use  of 
counter- arguments,  his  sermon,  nevertheless,  has  something 
to  do  with  a  system  that  comes  in  such  vital  contact  and 
conflict  with  the  doctrine  he  preaches.  Many  to  whom  he 
ministers  are  under  skeptical  influences,  and  are  made  to 
believe  that  the  Christian  faith  is  the  dogma  of  unlearned 
bigots,  and  that  science — falsely  so  called — has  outgrown  the 

X  Phelps'  Theory  of  Preaching,  p.  449, 
a  Princeton  Review,  January,  1878 


34  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Bible.  Iq  reference  to  this  blatant  skepticism,  the  preacber, 
instead  of  direct  reply  to  the  arguments  of  skepticism, 
should  show  as  much  skill  in  establishing  and  defending  the 
doctrines  of  scripture  as  those  doubters  do  in  assailing  them. 
Let  him  teach  the  opposite  of  scientific  heresy;  let  him 
drive  an  additional  spike  into  the  fortress  of  truth  for 
every  charge  from  the  enemy's  camp,  instead  of  returning 
shot.  "  He  who  is  building  up  health  is  thereby  conquer- 
ing disease.  He  who  is  preaching  truth  is  thereby  confut- 
ing error."  The  men  who  most  successfully  fight  skepticism 
are  always  the  positive,  not  the  negative  men;  not  the  ones 
who  pelt  error,  but  who  make  faith.  Incidentally  he  may 
give  side-blows  with  good  effect,  as  he  engages  in  the 
inculcation  of  positive  truth;  but  as  a  rule,  he  should  fol- 
low the  instruction  of  Paul,  which  is  especially  applicable 
to  our  times, — "Keep  that  which  is  committed  to  thy 
trust,  avoiding  profane  and  vain  babblings,  and  oppositions 
of  science  falsely  so  called." 

By  emphasizing  the  opposite  of  skeptical  doctrine  he 
gains  two  advantages, —  he  avoids  needless  controversy 
with  error,  which  often  engenders  unbelief  by  putting  his 
hearers  in  possession  of  objections  which  they  never  knew 
before;  and  he  forearms  the  believer  with  ars-uments  in 
favor  of  the  disputed  points  of  scriptural  doctrine,  which 
will  save  him  from  perplexity  in  case  he  may  subsequently, 
from  other  sources  than  the  pulpit,  hear  of  the  objection 
of  infidelity.  It  is  better  to  forestall  infidelity  than  to 
state  or  define  it.  But  such  a  treatment  of  learned  doubt 
requires  a  knowledge  of  the  doubter's  position  in  order  to 
state  and  enforce  its  anteposition. 

The  pulpit  should  assert  its  dignity  by  maintaining  that 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  we  preach  rank  as  highest  in 
the  scale  of  science  and  philosophy;  that  while  indirectly 
it  has  to  do  with  every  aggressive  science,  it  nevertheless 


Scientific  and  Popular  Skepticism,  35 

should  not  compromise  its  dignity  by  stooping  to  contend 
with  every  antagonistic  theory  that  rises  and  falls  in  the 
ever-shifting  tide  of  scientific  opinion.  As  long  as  the 
pulpit  believes  in  the  divine  inspiration  of  scripture,  it 
must,  in  order  to  be  consistent,  hold  it  as  infallible;  and 
"  the  assumption  that  the  Scriptures  stand  upon  a  common 
level  with  the  teachings  of  science,  and  are  to  be  called 
in  question  as  any  other  subject  of  human  thought,  can 
not  for  a  moment  be  admitted  by  the  gospel  preacher." 
"We  have  at  command  a  power  against  which  no  skepticism 
is  proof.  "  They  that  be  with  us  are  more  than  they  that 
be  with  them."  If  any  think  that  Christianity  is  a  weak 
system,  whose  advocates  have  contributed  little  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  knowledge,  we  can  mention  such  renowned 
thinkers  as  Copernicus,  Galileo,  Bacon,  Newton,  Pascal, 
Butler,  Chalmers,  Morse,  Dana,  Agassiz,  McCosh,  and  a 
host  of  others,  whose  scholarly  defense  of  Christian  truth 
has  never  been  shaken  by  the  best  of  Bible  opponents. 
*'  The  gospel  preacher  should  maintain  the  dignity  of  the 
science  which  he  represents,  and  resent  the  arrogance  of 
any  science  that  would  ignore  this  highest  of  all  sciences. 
While  he  should  not  ignore,  but  keep  abreast  with,  the 
advanced  science  and  learning  of  his  age,  and  be  able  to 
warn  the  people  against  imposture,  yet,  speaking  officially 
in  the  name  of  Christ  from  the  pulpit,  he  should,  like  the 
apostle,  know  nothing  among  his  flock  '  save  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified.'  The  church  of  God  relies  not  upon 
the  pulpit  for  the  discussion  of  questions  of  science  and 
philosophy  with  unbelievers.  For  that,  she  has  not  lacked 
m  time  past,  nor  at  this  day,  faithful  sons  filling  other 
positions,  able  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints."^ 

But  there  is  a  kind  of  popular  skepticism,  to  which  the 
preacher  also  stands  related,  which  is  one  in  source,  and 

X  Princeton  Review,  January,  1879. 


2,6  The  Preacher  and  His  Ser^non. 

really  one  in  character,  with  the  skepticism  of  the  schools 
and  of  the  scholars.  It  does  not  consist  in  the  disbelief  of 
Bible  doctrine,  but  is  a  common-place  phenomenon  of 
doubt,  arising  from  the  conflict  of  life  with  faith,  of  tlieory 
with  practice,  or  the  discrepancies  between  real  Chris- 
tianity and  current  Christianity.  This  milder  form  of 
skepticism  is  becoming  so  prevalent  in  our  day,  inside  as 
well  as  outside  the  church,  that  the  pulpit  must  in  some 
way  arrest  its  growing  tendency.  How  shall  the  preacher 
grapple  with  this  antichrist? 

Since  the  infection  is  of  a  practical  rather  than  a  literary 
character,  the  method  of  meeting  it  must  not  be  an  argu- 
ment^ but  a  man,  a  character,  an  illustration  of  divine  truth 
embodied  in  the  individual  believer.  Hence  in  proportion 
as  the  preacher's  life  corresponds  with  the  Model  Example 
of  his  faith,  and  as  he  succeeds  in  making  the  disciple 
more  or  less  like  the  Master,  may  he  hope  to  overcome  the 
tide  of  popular  skepticism. 

And  here,  again,  as  in  every  moral  disease,  we  find  the 
only  antidote  to  consist  in  the  faithful  presentation  of 
Christ,  brought  to  the  lives  of  men  as  the  only  true  type 
of  faith  and  practice;  and  the  only  sure  way  of  meeting 
the  popular  perplexity  arising  from  the  inconsistency  of 
doctrine  and  life  is,  instead  of  defining  doctrine,  to  show 
man  a  God,  a  Christ.  Says  Phillips  Brooks:  "  If  there  be  a 
revival  which  is  needed  to  make  Christianity  strong  against 
the  enemies  which  beset  it,  and  clear  the  sight  of  the  mul- 
titude who  are  bewildered  about  it,  it  certainly  must  be 
the  re-coronation  of  its  personal  idea,  the  re-assertion  of 
the  fact  that  Christ  is  Christianity,  and  that  not  to  hold 
that  this  or  that  concerning  him  is  true,  but  to  follow  him 
with  love  and  with  that  degree  of  knowledge  of  him  which 
has  been  given  us,  is  to  be  a  Christian.  *  *  *  *  Make 
known  the  real  to  man,  by  every  means  you  can  command, 
the  personal  Christ, — not  doctrine  about  him,  but  Am." 


CHAPTER    II. 

GENERAL  PREPARATION. 

A  Proper  Conception  of  the  Ministerial  Oflace  —  Physical  Preparation — 
Intellectual  —Spiritual— Common  Sense. 

Having  examined  the  preacher's  relation  to  certain  duties, 
we  are  now  prepared  to  speak  more  particularly  of  his 
preparation  for  the  pulpit. 

The  consideration  of  this  part  of  a  minister's  work  is 
fully  as  important  as  that  of  any  other  function  of  his  office. 
The  perfection  of  his  professional  ability  will  be  according 
to  the  perfection  of  his  previous  preparation.  No  man 
is  born  a  philosopher,  a  doctor,  or  a  preacher.  He  may 
inherit  certain  aptitudes  which  become  an  index  to  his 
calling;  but  these  are  in  an  embryo  state,  and  need  devel- 
opment. He  is  born  a  novice,  and  without  cultivation 
would  remain  such. 

So  susceptible  are  we  to  improvement  that  there  can  be 
no  limit  to  the  extent  of  our  preparation.  We  are  never 
so  well  qualified  for  an  office  of  duty  but  that  we  might 
not  be  qualified  a  little  better.  The  only  limit  is  the  short 
ness  of  life,  which  allows  us  only  a  short  fragment  of  time 
to  prepare  for  life;  and  as  the  demand  for  qualified  minis- 
ters increases,  we  must  seek  better  methods  of  education, 
by  which  the  completest  preparation  may  be  acquired  in 
the  shortest  time. 

37 


38  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermoii. 

§   I.      A   PROPER   CONCEPTION    OF    THE   MINISTERIAL   OFFICE. 

Perhaps  the  best  antecedent  quahfication  for  the  office 
of  the  Christian  ministry  is  a  proper  conception  of  its 
nature  and  purpose.  Robert  Hall,  who  did  so  much  to 
adorn  his  holy  profession  and  raise  the  pulpit  to  its  true 
dignity  and  importance,  said,  "  The  moment  we  permit 
ourselves  to  think  lightly  of  the  Christian  ministry,  our 
right  arm  is  withered,  and  nothing  but  imbecility  and 
relaxation  remains."  The  reason  that  the  ministry — this 
royal  court  of  the  Lord  —  is  crowded  with  so  many  ineffi- 
cient occupants,  who  fail  to  give  full  proof  of  their  min- 
istry, is  because  they  have  failed  to  apprehend  the  dignified 
and  lofty  character  of  their  mission.  The  preacher's  prepa- 
ration for  and  effort  in  the  ministry  will  be  according  to 
his  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  his  work.  If  he 
considers  it  only  tantamount  to  that  of  the  legal  or  medi- 
cal profession,  he  will  put  forth  no  greater  efforts  than  if 
he  were  to  be  a  lawyer  or  a  doctor.  The  preacher's  work 
demands  the  best  talent,  and  the  best  culture  that  industry 
and  discipline  can  give  that  talent.  His  is  a  higher  calling, 
graver  in  its  responsibilities,  and  infinitely  wider  in  its 
influence  than  any  other.  When  the  already  gifted  Solo- 
mon assumed  the  kingship  of  God's  people,  he  asked  for 
wisdom  to  qualify  him  for  his  responsible  office.  But  a 
more  tremendous  responsibility  is  imposed  upon  the  hum- 
blest minister  of  Christ  than  Solomon  was  called  to  assume. 
He  is  charged  with  a  higher  trust,  and  for  the  due  dis- 
charge of  it  needs  especially,  and  in  a  larger  measure,  the 
gift  of  practical  wisdom.  No  human  language  can  describe 
the  supereminence  of  that  work  which  once  engaged  a 
Savior's  heart,  and  still  inspires  his  soul,  and  which  made 
Paul  exclaim,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  those  things?" 

Paul  was  successful  as  a  preacher  because  he  magnified 


Proper  Conception  of  the  Ministerial  Office.       39 

his  office.  To  magnify  our  office  is  not  to  have  exaggerated 
views  of  it,  but  to  see  it  as  it  is  in  its  true  importance  and 
requirements.  The  microscope  does  not  enlarge  an  object, 
but  only  our  view  of  it,  and  presents  it  to  us  in  its  real 
aspect,  adding  nothing  to  our  gaze  which  is  not  found  in 
the  object,  but  rather  leaving  it  partially  veiled  to  our 
sense-perception.  "We  too  often  look  at  the  ministry  as 
the  astronomer  looks  through  a  telescope  at  an  orb  so  far 
away  from  him  that  he  can  see  it  only  in  miniature  form. 
In  the  constellation  of  human  professions  the  ministry  is  a 
star  of  the  first  magnitude.  All  others  are  secondary,  and 
come  within  the  range  of  its  influence.  The  minister's 
work  has  to  do  with  everybody.  He  is  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  "  every  creature,"  of  whatever  rank  or  profession, 
of  whatever  name  or  nation.  The  scholar  and  the  igno- 
ramus, the  millionaire  and  the  pauper,  the  aristocrat  and 
the  plebeian,  the  holy  Christian  and  the  vile  sinner,  all, 
from  the  mightiest  king  down  to  the  poorest  wretch  of 
human  kind,  are  the  subjects  of  his  ministry.  He  is  to 
wield  such  a  power  over  them  all,  in  presenting  the  claims 
of  God  upon  their  souls,  as  to  dash  to  the  ground  all  their 
proud  and  empty  hopes,  and  make  them  forget  sublunary 
things  in  view  of  their  dreadful  responsibility  to  God.  To 
do  this  requires  no  ordinary  preacher.  "What,  then,  ought 
to  be  the  sanctity  of  his  conduct  and  the  elevation  of  his 
character?  Kot  every  man  is  qualified.  The  preacher  must 
be  vigorous,  a  king  among  men,  fitted  to  rule  by  force  of 
mind  and  weight  of  character,  yet  at  the  same  time  must 
habitually  bow  in  lowliness  before  the  cross  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  He  may  belong  to  no  earthly  dynasty,  but  he 
belongs  to  the  royalty  of  heaven  —  an  embassador  from 
another  world,  of  greater  pomp  than  this  nether  earth, 
commissioned  by  the  King  of  kings  to  carry  his  message 
of  salvation  to   wrecked  and  ruined   humanity,  and  in- 


40  The  Preacher  and  His  Seinnon. 

trusted,  not  with  the  wealth  of  nations,  but  with  the 
immortal  souls  of  living  men. 

1.  The  true  nature  of  the  Christian  ministry  is  essen- 
tially contained  in  one  idea.  It  is  a  ministry  of  truth,  eter- 
nal, immutable,  triumphant  truth.  The  difference  between 
the  gospel  and  all  forms  of  scientific  intelligence  is  that  the 
one  is  a  revelation  of  divine  truth,  the  other  a  school  of 
uncertain  knowledge;  or,  the  former  is  God-thought,  the 
latter  man-thought;  and  like  their  respective  authors,  the 
one  is  perfect,  the  other  imperfect.  Hence,  all  human 
investigation  is  stamped  with  error;  but  the  "  Word  is 
truth," — absolute  truth.  There  is  a  chasm  between  the 
human  and  the  divine  mind  which  nothing  can  bridge  but 
a  revelation  from  heaven. 

Then,  all  human  knowledge  is  subordinate  to  the  gospel. 
Finite  reason  must  submit  to  infinite.  We  must  not  go  to 
our  knowledge  to  correct  the  gospel,  but  must  in  every 
case  correct  our  knowledge  by  the  gospel;  or,  as  Claudius 
expresses  it,  "  To  improve  religion  by  means  of  reason 
appears  to  me  just  as  if  I  were  to  try  to  set  the  sun  by  my 
old  wooden  clock." 

On  the  one  side  we  have  truth;  on  the  other,  uncertain 
knowledge.  The  one  is  eternal,  the  other  transitory;  the 
one  immutable,  the  other  changeable;  the  one  triumphant, 
the  other  disastrous.  Amid  the  mutations  of  human  sys- 
tems and  the  revolutions  of  human  thought,  divine  truth, 
as  a  grand  illustration  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  has 
stood  unmoved  amid  all  literary  epochs,  and  is  to-day  just 
what  it  was  a  thousand  years  ago,  and  will  be  a  thousand 
years  hence. 

Abstract  philosophy  is  an  ever-changing  Proteus.  It  has 
arrived  at  no  positive  results.  From  Thales  and  Pytha- 
goras to  Schopenhauer  and  Ilartmann,  one  system  has 
taken  the  place  of  another,  while  criticism  has  demolished 


Proper  Conception  of  the  Ministerial  Office.       41 

the  old  schools  of  philosophy.  Men  have  become  wiser  in 
tearing  down  than  in  building  up.  Their  results  required 
correction  by  experience,  and  the  test  of  time  has  laid  them 
open  to  ridicule  and  contempt.^  Theories  of  philosophy  and 
science  are  reeds  shaken  by  the  wind.  They  may  attract 
notice  for  a  time,  but  will  pass  away  as  the  morning  cloud 
when  truth's  "eternal  years  of  God"  shall  come.  Mr.  Hux- 
ley may  draw  audiences  for  a  time  to  hear  his  exposition  of 
physical  life;  but  what  chance  of  endurance  can  it  have? 
Like  the  tiny  plant  whose  roots  have  no  deepness  of  earth 
but  which  is  scorched  by  the  rays  of  the  sun,  such  theories 
can  have  but  a  short  and  fitful  existence,  and  will  wither 
away  beneath  the  blaze  of  eternal  truth. 

Dr.  Shedd  says,  "  Other  species  of  literature  may  decline 
in  interest  and  value  as  the  redemption  of  the  human  race 
advances,  but  this  species  [that  is,  the  sermon]  will  steadily 
tend  to  its  culmination.  Like  the  Christian  grace  of 
charity,  which  will  outlive  prophecy  and  knowledge  and 
tongues,  sacred  eloquence  will  outlive,  or  rather  transform 
into  its  own  likeness,  all  other  forms  of  literature.  Whether 
there  be  poetry,  it  may  fail ;  whether  there  be  philosophy, 
it  may  cease;  whether  there  be  literature,  it  may  vanish 
away;  but  the  word  of  God  liveth  forever." 

This  truth  is  technically  called  divinity,  which  is  a  "  doc- 
trine treating  of  the  nature,  attributes,  and  works  of  the 
great  God,  as  he  stands  related  to  rational  creatures,  and 
the  way  how  rational  creatures  may  serve,  worship,  and 
enjoy  him.  And  if  so,  is  not  the  subject  of  it  the  greatest, 
and  the  design  and  business  of  it  the  noblest,  in  the  world, 
as  being  no  less  than  to  direct  an  immortal  soul  to  its  end- 
less and  eternal  felicity?  ^  ^  ^  ^  And  now,  can  we 
think  that  a  doctrine  of  that  depth,  that  height,  and  that 

I  For  example,  Hegel  believed  that  he  had  philosophically  proved  that  there  could  be 
not  more  than  eleven  planets.  Since  his  time,  however,  more  exact  astronomical  inves- 
tigation has  added  many  more  to  this  number. 


42  The  Preacher  and  His  Serrno7i. 

vast  compass,  grasping  within  it  all  tlie  perfections  and 
dimensions  of  human  science,  does  not  worthily  claim  all 
the  preparations  whereby  the  wit  and  indnstry  of  man  can 
fit  him  for  it?  All  other  sciences  are  but  handmaids  to 
divinity;  and  shall  the  handmaid  be  richer  adorned  and 
better  clothed  and  set  oft'  than  her  mistress?"* 

2.  Another  important  function  of  the  ministry  consists 
in  the  inculcation  of  duty.  It  aims  at  the  development  of 
practical  Christianity — not  only  the  teaching  of  creed,  but 
also  the  formation  of  character.  Its  office  is  twofold: 
truth  and  duty,  or,  truth  in  thought  and  truth  in  action, 
truth  in  the  mind  and  truth  in  the  life.  "  The  one  is  creed, 
the  other  conduct;  the  first  is  belief,  the  second  is  obe- 
dience; the  one  faith,  the  other  works.  "Without  the 
truth,  duty  will  be  fruitless  and  empty, — the  first,  steam 
without  cylinder  or  piston;  the  second,  an  engine  without 
force. " 

The  mission  of  duty  is  the  noblest,  grandest  ideal  of  life, 
beyond  which  nothing  can  be  desired  or  hoped  for  in  the 
realm  of  human  achievements.  Its  rewards  are  its  own 
benedictions,  which  are  peace,  happiness,  a  good  conscience, 
and  the  absence  of  all  that  troubles  human  breasts.  It  is, 
therefore,  the  height  of  human  excellence.  Living  or 
dying,  it  is  man's  greatest  boon.  It  is  the  foundation 
of  character.  We  are  not  measured  by  our  reputation, 
intelligence,  or  any  acquired  distinction,  but  by  our  dis- 
charge of  moral  obligation.  "We  are,  not  what  we  seem, 
but  what  we  do.  The  ministry  of  the  gospel  which 
"engages  in  the  unselfish  and  benevolent  work  of  educating 
men  in  the  sublime  art  of  fulfilling  duty  toward  humanity 
and  Deity,  is  doing  more  for  the  world  than  any  other  bus- 
iness or  profession  on  earth;  for  it  produces  true  characters, 

1  South's  Sermons,  Phil,  ed.,  Vol.  11.,  p.  79;  quoted  by  Hoppin  in  Homiletics,  pp.  xxil. 
xziii. 


Proper  Conception  of  the  Ministerial  Office.      43 

witlaout  which  the  world  and  all  its  business  is  demor- 
alized. 

Duty  results  in  'perfection.  To  meet  all  the  demands  of 
human  obligation  and  discharge  them  cheerfully  to  the  ex- 
tent of  our  ability  is  duty;  and  this  duty,  indeed,  is  the 
only  kind  of  perfection  possible  for  finite  beings.  The 
sphere  of  knowledge  and  goodness  is  not  circumscribed  or 
circumscribable,  but  that  of  doing  has  a  limit,  and  its  acme 
is  clearly  defined  by  the  word  duty.  Hence,  acts  of  super- 
erogation are  impossible,  because  they  imply  an  excess  of 
perfection.  Within  the  range  of  human  possibility  men 
can  aspire  to  nothing  higher  than  duty,  since  it  leaves 
nothing  really  necessary  undone;  and  he  whose  epitaph  can 
be  truthfully  inscribed  over  his  last  resting-place,  "  I  have 
done  my  whole  duty,"  is  a  perfect  man.  Whatever  else 
men  may  have  done,  this  they  do  not  wish  left  undone. 
That,  then,  must  be  the  most  princely  ofiice  which  interests 
itself  in  leading  men  to  the  acquisition  of  such  royal  great- 
ness in  morals  and  such  magnanimity  of  character,  whose 
excellence  can  be  compared  with  nothing  less  than  that  of 
angels.  Duty  and  trutli^  then,  are  the  fundamental  subjects 
of  pulpit  teaching  which  include  all  other  subjects,  and 
which  furnish  the  preacher  with  such  charming  materials 
for  his  eloquence. 

3.  Our  idea  of  the  ministry  is  elevated  when  we  re- 
member the  'pur'pose  for  which  it  was  instituted.  All  truth 
is  in  a  certain  sense  divine,  because  God  is  its  author;  but 
the  truth  which  especially  forms  the  basis  of  the  ministry 
is  not  only  eternal,  unchangeable,  and  triumphant,  but  spir- 
itual, and  as  such  most  momentous  in  its  effects.  Duty, 
which  is  truth  practiced  and  obeyed,  is  the  summum  bonum, 
and  leads  to  the  highest  development  of  man  —  his  salva- 
tion and  eternal  advancement  in  knowledge  and  happiness. 
This  is  the  supreme  object  of  the  ministry  as  the  appointed 


44  2^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

instrument  and  agency  of  God.  Every  minister,  in  the 
highest  sense,  is  a  "merchantman  seeking  goodly  pearls," 
— not  gems  of  earthly  glitter  or  kingly  worth,  but  souls, 
the  grandest  jewels  on  this  side  the  pearly  gates  of  heaven, 
and  each  one  beyond  the  value  of  the  Kohinoor,  the  Orlow, 
or  the  Regent. 

Many  who  have  formed  correct  ideas  of  the  ministry 
have  spoken  of  its  importance  in  the  most  fitting  words. 
Mr.  Gunn  says,  "The  work  of  the  ministry  is  the  most 
momentous  and  excellent  in  which  a  mortal  can  engage, 
and  one  in  which  no  man  who  has  a  just  impression  of  its 
nature  and  consequences  will  lightly  think  of  entering." 
Mr.  Law  says,  "  The  pulpit  is  the  battle-field  where  we 
win  triumphs  or  sustain  defeat.  The  angels  have  no  such 
throne."  Mr.  "Whitefield  says,  "  The  greatest  preferment 
under  heaven  is  to  be  an  able,  painful,  weeping,  successful, 
Buffering,  cast-out  minister  of  the  New  Testament."  Oow- 
per  says, 

"The  pulpit  (in  the  sober  use 
Of  its  legitimate,  peculiar  powers) 

Must  stand  acknowledged,  while  the  world  shall  stand, 
The  most  important  and  effectual  guard, 
Support,  and  ornament  of  Virtue's  cause." 

A  proper  conception  of  the  object  of  a  preacher's  pro- 
fession has  made  many  enthusiastic  in  soul-saving.  Pay- 
eon  had  a  continual  passion  for  men's  souls.  Rutherford 
affirmed  that  they  were  the  object  of  his  tears,  cares,  fears, 
and  daily  prayer,  and  said,  "  My  witness  is  above,  that 
your  heaven  would  be  two  heavens  to  me,  and  the  salva- 
tion of  you  all  as  two  salvations  to  mo."  John  Welsh  had 
such  a  sense  of  the  worth  of  men's  souls  that  often  in  the 
coldest  winter  night  he  was  found  weeping  and  wrestling 
with  the  Lord  on  account  of  his  people;  and  in  answer  to 
his  wife's  inquiry  as  to  this  solicitude  he  said,  "I  have  the 


Proper  Conception  of  the  Ministerial  Office.       45 

souls  of  tiiree  thousand  to  answer  for,  while  I  know  not 
how  it  is  with  many  of  them."  Such  an  all-absorbing 
interest  in  the  salvation  of  men,  as  the  object  of  our 
preaching,  is  the  first  and  great  qualification  of  a  Christian 
minister. 

Do  we  realize  the  truth  of  our  preaching  —  sin  and  sal- 
vation, heaven  and  hell,  immortality  and  human  responsi- 
bility? The  jurist,  legislator,  and  statesman  have  no  such 
themes;  and  yet  they  are  often  more  eloquent  than  we. 
The  pulpit  is  put  to  shame  by  the  superior  eloquence  of  the 
bar  and  platform;  and  never  was  a  criticism  on  Christian 
oratory  more  just  than  that  of  Garrick,  in  answer  to  a 
minister's  question  why  the  stage  attracts  more  hearers 
than  the  pulpit.  His  answer  was,  "Because  we  speak  fic- 
tion as  if  it  were  truth;  but  you  speak  truth  as  if  it  were 
fiction." 

Such,  then,  is  the  nature  and  object  of  the  sacred  minis- 
try of  the  gospel  that  it  demands  in  combination  the 
eloquence  of  an  orator,  the  acumen  of  a  scholar,  the  pro- 
foundness of  a,  philosopher,  and  the  piety  of  a  saint.  It 
requires  the  full  complement  of  human  excellence.  No 
accomplishment  can  be  too  great;  no  qualification  too 
thorough.  Hence  every  one  called  of  God  to  the  holy 
oflSce  of  the  ministry,  and  who  has  entered  into  the  true 
idea  of  its  work,  can  not  be  indifferent  as  to  his  special 
preparation,  but  will  endeavor  by  the  aid  of  discipline, 
labor,  perseverance,  and  prayer,  to  be  all  that  is  possible 
within  the  sphere  of  his  capability,  and  to  bring  all  his 
natural  and  acquired  abilities  to  bear  upon  the  great  work 
to  which  he  is  called. 

Bishop  Ken  thus  describes  a  preacher: 

"  Give  me  a  priest  whose  graces  shall  possess 
Of  an  embassador  a  joint  address; 
A  father's  tenderness,  a  shepherd's  care, 
A  leader's  courage  which  the  cross  can  bear, 


46  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

A  ruler's  awe,  a  watchman's  wakefulness, 

A  father's  patience,  and  a  laborer's  toil, 

A  guide's  dexterity  to  disembroil, 

A  prophet's  inspiration  from  above, 

A  teacher's  knowledge,  and  a  Savior's  love." 

Oowper,  the  sweet  poet  of  Oluey,  says, — 

"  Would  I  describe  a  preacher,  such  as  Paul, 
Were  he  on  earth,  would  hear,  approve,  and  own — 
Paul  should  himself  direct  me.     I  would  trace 
His  master  strokes,  and  draw  from  his  design. 
I  would  express  him  simple,  grave,  sincere; 
In  doctrine  uncorrupt;  in  language  plain, 
And  plain  in  manner;   decent,  solemn,  chaste, 
And  natural  in  gesture;  much  impress'd 
Himself,  as  conscious  of  his  awful  charge, 
And  anxious  mainly  that  the  flock  he  feeds 
May  feel  it  too;  affectionate  in  look, 
And  tender  in  address,  as  well  becomes 
A  messenger  of  grace  to  guilty  men."' 

§   n.      PHYSICAL   PREPARATION. 

"We  have  spoken  of  the  nature  of  the  Christian  ministry 
as  a  basis  upon  which  to  predicate  the  several  qualifications 
for  the  office  of  preaching.  Of  course,  we  must  omit  treat- 
ing of  many  particulars,  such  as  official  and  social  qualifi- 
cations, which  belong  to  the  pastor  rather  than  to  the 
preacher,  for  we  purpose  speaking  only  of  a  minister's 
qualification  for  the  pulpit,  and  not  for  the  parish.  He 
who  comprehends  and  feels  the  weight  of  his  responsi- 
bility, and  the  demands  of  the  ministry,  will  not  fail  to 
lay  under  tribute  and  bring  into  requisition  every  attaina- 
ble power  whereby  he  may  accomplish  the  grandest  results 
in  this  one  great  business  of  his  life. 

First,  then,  there  should  be  a  physical  fitness.  "Another 
observation  is  founded  on  the  fact  that  the  duties  of  the 

I   7'a,s7v-,  Book  n. 


Physical  Preparation.  47 

constituted  preacher  are  arduous  and  constant.  It  is  that 
he  must  have  a  good  physical  organization.  He  must  be 
able  to  bear  frequent  and  copious  draughts  upon  his  nerv- 
ous energy.  *  *  *  *  "Wr^  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  prophets  and  apostles  and  evangelists  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  IlTew  were  men  of  strong  physical 
structure,  or,  at  least,  of  sound  health.  We  think  of 
Moses  climbing  the  cliffs  of  Sinai,  Samuel  hewing  Agag 
in  pieces,  Jeremiah  trudging  off"  to  the  Euphrates  and 
back  twice  for  a  single  lesson  to  Judah,  Elijah  traversing 
the  wilderness,  the  apostles  journeying  into  all  lands,  as 
men  of  muscle  and  sound  physical  organs."^ 

Extreme  bodily  weakness  is  a  disqualification  for  effect- 
ive preaching.  A  full  development  of  physical  force  is 
needed  for  intellectual  and  spiritual  power;  for  generally 
the  men  who  have  achieved  great  results  in  the  cause  of 
God  were  those  who  have  preserved  the  mentem  sanam  in 
corpore  sano.  It  is  not  necesssary  here  to  show  the  subtle 
relation  between  physiology  and  psychology.  Experience 
has  taught  us  that  those  special  faculties  which  are  most 
needed  in  public  speaking — namely,  judgment,  will,  mem- 
ory, imagination,  and  the  power  of  rapidly  originating 
and  combining  thought, — depend  most  eminently  on  vital 
force,  the  health  of  athletic  soundness,  and  an  Herculean 
body.  These  quicken  our  mental  activity  and  sharpen  our 
comprehension  of  the  various  relations  of  truth.  This  in 
turn  reacts  upon  our  spirituality.  A  sluggish,  phlegmatic 
spirit  is  often  the  result  of  a  morbid  physical  condition. 

Our  affections  and  feelings  rise  and  fall  with  the  tide  of 
physical  and  mental  power.  It  was  for  this  reason  Paul 
said,  "I  keep  under  my  body;"  and  to  give  this  saying 
the  right  sense,  we  are  to  keep  under  the  body  as  a  ship 
keeps  the  water  beneath  it.     So  keep  the  body  in  constant 

I  Dr.  Howard  Crosby's  Yale  Lecturet,  pp.  20-22. 


48  TJie  Preacher  a?2d  His  Sennan. 

subjection  to  the  mind,  that  the  whole  intellectual  force 
may  securely  rise  and  rest  upon  it.  It  should  be  the  sup- 
port and  servant  of  the  mind;  and  when  strong  and  hale, 
and  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  will  propel 
the  mind  forward  with  wonderful  alacrity. 

There  are  some  cases  where  a  feeble  and  sickly  state  of 
body  has  exhibited  power  in  a  particular  direction.  The 
mind  will  sometimes  show  abnormal  activity  when  the 
brain  is  in  anything  but  a  healthful  condition.  The  emo- 
tional nature  may  be  especially  excitable,  but  its  power  of 
propagating  emotion  in  others  is  not  in  like  manner  in- 
creased when  the  body  is  sufi'ering  from  a  diseased  sensi- 
bility. In  such  a  state  the  preacher  may  be  sympathetic, 
but  it  is  generally  with'  the  shadows  that  are  in  the  world. 
He  can  not  enter  into  the  sentiment  of  those  more  joyful 
and  stirring  themes  of  the  gospel  with  a  spirit  that  blos- 
soms like  Aaron's  rod.  Force,  buoyancy,  elasticity,  vigor, 
come  to  the  mind  from  the  sound  and  energetic  physical 
force  which  underlies  and  sustains  it. 

Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  in  speaking  of  the  close  connection 
that  often  exists  between  bodily  weakness  and  erroneous 
doctrine,  says,  "We  do  not  say  that  a  man's  liver  might 
cause  him  to  reject  the  atonement,  or  his  neuralgia  might 
make  him  a  Swedenborgian.  We  do  not  attribute  to  any 
degree  of  physical  disease  a  destruction  of  the  biblical 
system  of  doctrine  in  the  subject  of  disease,  but  we  are 
confident  that  the  coloring  of  a  preacher's  teaching  is 
largely  affected  by  his  morbosity.  Gloomy  views  of  the 
Christian  life,  a  false  estimate  of  the  relations  which  Chris- 
tians should  sustain  toward  the  moving  world  around 
them,  and  ascetic  admixture  with  the  duties  of  religion,  a 
lack  of  practical  sympathy  with  the  varieties  of  disposition 
found  in  a  congregation  of  a  thousand  souls,  and  a  failure 
to  feel  and  exhibit  the  just  inter-proportions  of  scriptural 


Physical  Preparation.  49 

doctrine,  are  natural  results  of  an  enfeebled  constitution, 
where  the  wheels  of  physical  life  work  jarringly  and  pain- 
fully." 

Again,  great  physical  vigor  is  necessary  for  impressive 
delivery.  The  narrow  chest,  feeble  voice,  diseased  throat, 
and  nervous  temperament,  which  produce  a  "  kind  of  men- 
tal paralysis  in  the  presence  of  an  audience,  that  makes  a 
public  appearance  a  kind  of  martyrdom,"  do  not  indicate 
a  man  formed  for  public  speech. 

When  we  think  of  eloquence,  we  naturally  call  to  mind 
such  massive  men  as  Webster,  Punshon,  and  Whitefield, — 
speakers  of  large  bodily  capacity,  whose  overwhelming 
rhetoric  pressed  every  thought  upon  men's  minds  with  the 
immense  current  of  their  physical  energy.  They  were  full 
of  force,  like  a  fountain,  and  flowed  over  at  the  eye,  at  the 
lip,  at  the  heart,  and  all  the  time,  with  every  species  of 
action  and  demonstration.  Physical  power  was  a  fire  under 
their  mental  machinery.  There  is  a  peculiar  physical  adap- 
tation to  powerful  oratory  which  every  minister  may  covet. 

But  not  every  minister  is  endowed  by  nature  with  such 
a  i^hysique,  nor  can  he  create  it  for  himself;  and  yet  every 
one,  by  training,  may  correct  many  natural  defects  and 
improve  many  valuable  gifts.  A  man  called  of  God  to 
preach  is  as  morally  bound  to  cultivate  his  physical  organs 
as  he  is  to  educate  his  mental  faculties  and  give  them  the 
capacity  which  his  vocation  demands.  The  penman,  the 
painter,  the  sculptor,  will  train  his  hand  and  muscle  by 
long  processes  for  the  execution  of  graceful  lines  and  deli- 
cate touches.  Not  any  hand  can  produce  a  Madonna  or 
an  Angelo's  Moses.  The  athlete  and  gymnast,  the  man 
who  is  to  swing  upon  the  trapeze,  develops  each  muscle 
and  gives  each  nerve  its  proper  training  for  the  feats  he 
accomplishes,  until  the  results  are  simply  amazing.  Re- 
member the  pains  men  take  to  train  themselves  in  other 
4 


50  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

and  lower  departments  of  effort;  and  let  us  be  ashamed  if 
we  are  not  willing  to  give  to  this  grandest  office  on  earth 
the  discipline  which  is  so  much  needed  for  success  in  it. 
Hence  the  importance  of  improving  the  voice  by  subject- 
ing ourselves  to  a  course  of  elocutionary  drill  and  vocal 
culture;  of  enlarging  the  chest;  of  increasing  muscular 
strength  and  facilitating  gesture  by  proper  athletic  exercise; 
of  increasing  and  preserving  vigorous  health  by  attention 
to  diet,  sleep,  exercise;  of  applying  ourselves  faithfully  to 
those  processes  which  give  vitality  and  recuperative  force 
to  the  explosive  power  by  which  we  can  the  better  be  able 
to  thrust  the  truth  out  upon  the  hearts  and  consciences  of 
men.  "  What  may  be  done  where  the  mind  is  resolutely 
bent  on  accomplishing  it,  for  supplying  the  deficiencies  and 
correcting  faults  in  elocution,  Demosthenes  has  taught  us; 
and  were  half  or  a  tenth  part  of  the  pains  taken  by  us  to 
obtain  a  powerful  and  effective  method  of  pulpit  address 
which  were  submitted  to  by  this  prince  of  orators  to 
become  an  effective  speaker,  *  h^  *  *  •^g  too  should 
become  orators,  and  that  in  a  yet  better  cause  than  his."^ 
Plutarch  tells  us  that  by  unwearied  perseverance  Demos- 
thenes surmounted  all  the  disadvantages  that  arose  from 
his  person  and  address.  The  stammering  of  his  tongue  he 
corrected  by  practicing  speech  with  pebbles  in  his  mouth; 
he  strengthened  his  voice  by  declaiming  by  the  sea-shore; 
he  practiced  at  home  with  a  naked  sword  hanging  over  his 
shoulder,  that  he  might  check  an  ungraceful  movement  to 
which  he  was  subject;  ran  up  a  hill  pronouncing  some 
passage  in  a  poem  during  the  difficulty  of  breathing  which 
that  caused.  Surely,  if  his  country's  cause  "  prompted  the 
Athenian  orator  to  such  studies  and  such  efforts  for  self- 
improvement,  ought  not  the  love  of  souls,  zeal  for  God, 
and   the   interests   of  eternity   to   prompt   us   to   similar 

I  James'  Eamat  Ministry,  page  126. 


Physical  Preparati07i.  51 

endeavor?"      It  can  not  be  that  the  parliament  and  the 
forum  alone  demand  such  oratorical  drill. 

Again,  a  minister  ought  to  improve  bodily  fitness  by 
abandoning  and  abstaining  from  those  habits  which  pros- 
trate the  physical  system.  ITo  minister  has  a  right  to 
desecrate  and  injure  that  body  which  God  gave  him  to  be 
wholly  consecrated  to  the  service  of  the  gospel;  and  if  by 
any  indulgence  he  violates  the  laws  of  nature  so  as  to 
cripple  his  bodily  vigor,  he  becomes  not  only  a  sufferer, 
but  a  sinner.  Formerly,  preachers,  in  order  to  stimulate 
mental  activity,  used  alcoholic  liquors  to  the  damage  of 
their  health,  and  not  unfrequently  to  their  shame  and  the 
scandal  of  the  church.  "  In  many  churches  both  wine 
and  brandy  are  kept  in  the  vestry  for  the  use  of  the  min- 
ister both  before  and  after  preaching.  On  my  first  visit 
to  the  old  countries,  the  kind  sextons  seemed  to  be  as 
much  astonished  that  I  would  not  accept  them  as  I  was 
amazed  at  their  being  offered.  I  have  known  some  young 
ministers  who  used  a  few  drops  of  paregoric,  or  a  small 
quantity  of  opium,  to  give  them  temporary  strength  in  the 
pulpit.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  have  known  but  few  such 
cases;  but  I  must  add  that  these  were  led  in  the  end  to 
either  physical  or  moral  ruin."  ^  At  present  nearly  all 
use  coffee  and  tea.  "  The  effect  of  these  stimulants  is 
unquestionably  to  give  greater  strength  to  the  system  for 
the  time;  but  all  such  artificial  strength  is  a  draft  which 
must  be  repaid  with  interest.  The  unnatural  excitement 
will  be  followed  by  subsequent  depression."^  And  since 
the  use  of  alcohol  has  been  denounced,  many  have  adopted 
the  use  of  tobacco,  in  some  form,  to  the  ruin  of  their 
health,  the  utter  prostration  of  their  nervous  system  and 
their  memory,  and  the  demoralization  of  their  manliness. 
"  There  may  be  a  few  cases  where  persons  are  very  phleg- 

s  Bishop  M.  Simpson's  Yale  Lectures.       2  Ibid. 


52  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

matic  and  inclined  to  corpulency,  where  a  small  amount  of 
tobacco  may  be  of  service  medicinally.  So,  too,  in  certain 
stages  of  bronchial  difficulty,  a  temporary  use  may  be  of 
some  relief;  but  for  persons  of  nervous  organization,  as 
ministers  usually  are,  it  is  an  unmixed  evil.  It  gives  tem- 
porary tension,  to  produce  ultimate  relaxation.  Not  a  few 
cases  have  I  known  of  most  promising  and  talented  young 
men  who  have  been  by  it  hastened  to  an  untimely  grave."* 
^ITot  a  few  ministers  resort  to  some  stimulant  or  narcotic, 
with  the  delusive  idea  that  the  temporary  excitement  is  a 
source  of  strength.  The  result  is,  dyspepsia,  nervousness, 
and  general  debility,  and  at  last,  like  the  robust  Barrow, 
on  account  of  his  excessive  use  of  tobacco, — the  only 
shadow  upon  his  reputation, — they  die  at  a  premature  age. 
"  God  does  not  require  us  to  use  artificial  strength  in  the 
pulpit.  We  must  give  ourselves  in  our  best  vigor  and 
culture  to  his  service,  but  we  should  so  give  ourselves  that 
the  service  of  one  hour  shall  not  destroy  our  power  for 
subsequent  usefulness.  I  believe  one  reason  why  so  many 
ministers  complain  of  'blue  Monday'  is  that  they  have 
keyed  up  their  system  by  extra  efforts  beyond  its  natural 
tension,  and  the  excitement  passing  away  leaves  them  de- 
pressed."^ 

Every  minister,  before  entering  the  sacred  office,  for  the 
sake  of  efficiency  in  the  cause  of  his  Master,  should  first 
slay  every  giant  habit  that  is  preying  upon  his  vital  forces. 
Let  him  before  entering  upon  the  ministry,  and  during  his 
continuance  in  it,  give  attention  to  physical  culture  and 
habits.  He  needs  all  the  power  he  can  command  to  preach 
a  life-giving  and  life-preserving  gospel. 

I  Bishop  M.  Simpson's  YaU  Leeturu.       a  Ibid. 


Intellectual  Preparation.  53 

§   III.      INTELLECTUAL    PREPARATION. 

Another  indispensable  requisite  for  preaching  is  knowl- 
edge. Physical  force  as  a  momentum  in  the  act  of  preach- 
ing is  to  knowledge  somewhat  as  dynamics  is  to  statics 
in  physical  science.  As  there  can  be  no  phenomenon 
without  substance,  so  there  can  be  no  genuine  oratory 
produced  out  of  a  mental  vacuum.  Knowledge  is  a 
preacher's  capital,  and  bodily  force  is  the  apparatus  with 
which  to  handle  it;  but  there  must  be  something  to  be 
handled.  Hence,  a  minister  must  not  only  first  gather  a 
fund  of  knowledge,  but  every  day  add  to  his  acquired 
resources  as  the  race  moves  forward  to  higher  attainments, 
else  intellectual  bankruptcy  will  be  the  sure  result. 

Such  a  fitness  is  required  by  the  sacred  Scriptures. 
"  Therefore  every  scribe  which  is  instructed  unto  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder, 
which  bringeth  forth  out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and 
old."  (Matt.  xiii.  52.)  "  I  will  give  you  pastors  according 
to  mine  heart,  which  shall  feed  you  with  knowledge  and 
understanding."  (Jer.  iii.  15.)  Paul  says  that  a  preacher 
must  be  "  apt  to  teach,"  and  that  the  gospel  is  to  be  com- 
mitted to  "  faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others 
also."  (II.  Tim.  ii.  2.)  Often  are  preachers  designated  as 
"teachers."  (See  Matt,  xxviii.  20;  Eph.  iv.  11.)  And  the 
profoundest  truths  that  can  engage  the  human  mind  are 
the  subjects  of  their  teaching. 

Intellectual  preparation  is  an  essential  qualification  for 
the  sacred  office  of  preaching.  A  few  may  regard  this  idle; 
and  we  are  surprised  to  read  these  words:  "To  say  a  man 
must  study  divinity  on  the  same  principle  that  a  mechanic 
would  learn  a  trade,  or  a  student  prepare  himself  for  the 
practice  of  medicine  or  law,  with  a  view  to  become  a  min- 
ister of  Christ,  is  to  convert  the  gospel  into  a  commodity 


54  The  Prea£her   and  His  Ser^non. 

of  commerce,  which  may  be  acquired  by  human  effort,  and 
disposed  of  for  pecuniary  gain.  *  *  *  *  The  plea 
that  a  minister  must  devote  much  time  in  making  prepara- 
tion for  the  pulpit  seems  to  us  a  singular  idea."^  Was  it  "a 
singular  idea"  that  Paul,  after  his  conversion  and  call  to 
the  ministry,  should  spend  three  years  in  Arabia  in  prepa- 
ration for  his  great  work?  With  all  his  previous  scholar- 
ship, acquired  in  the  school  of  Hillel,  from  the  great 
teacher  Gamaliel,  he  would  not  rush  into  the  arena  of  hia 
public  ministry  unarmored  and  unaccustomed  to  the  weap- 
ons. Was  it  "  a  singular  idea"  that  Christ,  a  greater  than 
Paul,  spent  thirty  years  at  his  home  in  Nazareth  in  making 
preparation  for  the  three  crowning  years  of  his  life?  "K 
I  were  sure  of  living  ten  years,  I  should  spend  nine  of 
them  in  preparing  to  preach  during  the  tenth,"  said  an 
able  preacher. 

Jackson's  idea  of  mental  preparation  is  so  low  an  esti- 
mate of  the  minister's  office  as  to  amount  almost  to  dese- 
cration. It  regards  the  lower  and  secular  interests  of  life 
with  greater  though tfuln ess  than  the  higher  and  eternal 
interests  of  men.  Who  would  think  now  of  becoming  a 
mechanic,  or  of  entering  the  ranks  of  the  medical  or  legal 
profession,  without  previous  training?  No  one  could  do  it 
without  depreciating  the  worth  of  the  oiSce  in  which  he 
serves,  and  thereby  rendering  it  less  efficient  and  effectual 
according  to  the  number  of  unworthy  representatives  that 
crowd  its  ranks.  Every  unqualified  preacher  in  the  minis- 
terial office,  instead  of  counting  ^^ws,  will  sadly  be  a  minus 
in  the  value  of  its  efficiency.  If,  according  to  Jackson, 
God  has  no  need  of  our  learning,  he  can  have  still  less 
need  of  our  ignorance. 

Some  entirely  ignore  all  manner  of  preparation  for  the 
pulpit,  both  general  and  special,  and  look  for  immediate 

z  John  Jackson's  Dissertation  on  the  Christian  Ministry. 


hitellectual  Preparation.  55 

inspiration,  sucli  as  was  promised  to  men  under  extraor- 
dinary circumstances,  to  whom  Christ  said,  "  Take  no 
thought  how  or  what  ye  shall  speak:  for  it  shall  be  given 
you  in  that  same  hour  what  ye  shall  speak."  The  passage 
forbids  undue  anxiety;  but  no  more  forbids  human  fore- 
thought and  human  means  than  the  other  direction,  "Take 
no  thought,  saying,  What  shall  we  eat?  or.  What  shall  we 
drink?  or,  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed?  *  *  *  *  for 
your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all 
these  things,"  forbids  us  to  provide  for  our  food  and  cloth- 
ing. Both  commands  seem  to  imply  God's  assistance 
whenever  needed,  but  no  promise  that  he  will  do  for  us 
anything  which  we  can  do  ourselves. 

We  sometimes  hear  it  said  that  the  apostles  were  un- 
learned men.  True,  they  never  passed  through  a  course 
of  training  such  as  is  now  provided  for  our  young  men; 
but  they  were  far  from  being  unlearned  in  theology. 
Their  professional  training  was  extensive,  and  even  ex- 
traordinary. They  enjoyed  for  three  years  the  personal 
instruction  of  the  world's  great  Teacher.  He  taught  them 
the  deep  things  of  God,  stimulated  thought,  awakened  in- 
quiry, startled  them  with  wonders  of  the  gospel.  They 
did  not  sit  at  ease  while  he  taught  them.  They  worked 
upon  his  great  ideas.  They  tasked  themselves  to  grasp 
his  meaning,  and  to  become  filled  with  his  spirit.  More- 
over, the  apostles  were  divinely  inspired  to  preach  the 
kingdom  of  God,  to  "  heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the  lepers,  raise 
the  dead,  and  cast  out  devils."  (Matt.  x.  7,  8.)  What 
modern  preacher  can  boast  of  such  an  instructor,  or  enjoy 
so  divine  an  endowment?  The  best  and  most  talented 
man  of  to-day,  after  having  passed  through  a  thorough 
curriculum  of  theological  study,  in  the  presence  of  our 
apostolic  brethren  would  have  to  feel  that  he  is  far  their 
inferior  in  preparation  for  the  ministry. 


56  Tlu  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

There  is  no  ground  for  believing  that  in  our  day  Christ 
will  communicate  the  necessary  learning  to  his  minis- 
ters. At  the  commencement  of  the  church  inspiration 
was  necessary  to  show  that  Christianity  had  its  origin 
not  in  the  wisdom  of  schools,  that  it  derived  its  au- 
thority not  from  the  researches  and  deductions  of  the 
learned,  but  from  the  immediate  inspiration  and  will  of 
God.  No  such  necessity  now  exists,  and  therefore  extraor- 
dinary gifts  are  no  longer  imparted;  not  that  the  office 
requires  less  fitness  now  than  formerly,  but  because  there 
are  now  other  means  provided  for  our  preparation  that 
must,  in  a  measure,  take  the  place  of  inspiration. 

Hence,  we  find  that  the  most  successful  ministers  since 
the  days  of  the  apostles  have  been  men  of  learning  and 
study.  Among  the  church  -  fathers,  Clement,  Ignatius, 
Justin  Martyr,  Origen,  Cyprian,  Eusebius,  Chrysostom,  and 
Augustine,  all  gave  evidence  of  extensive  learning.  In  the 
days  of  the  Reformation,  Wyclifie,  Huss,  Luther,  Melanch- 
thon,  Zwingli,  and  Calvin  were  all  school-men.  The  French 
pulpit  can  boast  of  such  profoundly  educated  preachers 
as  Bossuet,  Bourdaloue,  Fenelou,  Claude,  Massillon,  and 
Saurin.  To  think  of  the  leading  English  preachers  is  to 
think  of  learning  and  power.  Jeremy  Taylor,  who  is 
justly  called  the  "Shakespeare  of  the  pulpit,"  was  a  grad- 
uate of  Cambridge,  and  for  a  time  held  the  vice-chancellor- 
Bhip  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  Barrow's  early  attain- 
ments were  wonderful.  He  was  made  fellow  of  Trinity  at 
nineteen,  with  the  king's  remark,  "I  have  given  it  to  the 
best  scholar  in  England. "  He  also  held  the  chair  of  math- 
ematics at  Cambridge,  and  afterward  resigned  his  chair  to 
his  pupil.  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  South  received  his  education 
at  Westminster  and  his  degree  at  Oxford.  Passing  by 
many  others  of  note,  we  remember  that  the  pious  non-con- 
formists, Owen,  Bates,  Flavel,  Howe,  Doddridge,  etc.,  were 


Intellectual  Preparation.  5  7 

all  college-bred  men.  Scotland  has  been  electrified  with 
the  eloquent  preaching  of  the  learned  Knox,  Bruce,  Guth- 
rie, Livingstone,  and  Blair.  More  recently,  we  mention  as 
examples  of  learning  and  eloquence  Chalmers,  Monod, 
Vaughan,  Newman  Hall,  Coquerel,  Bersier,  M.  de  Pressense, 
"Wesley,  "Whitefield,  Edwards,  Finney,  and  Otterbein.  All 
these  are  preachers  who  have  given  formation  to  Christian 
and  national  character,  and  stamped  their  age  with  the 
spirit  of  their  teaching.  Even  to-day  the  nations  of  the 
world  owe  far  more  to  the  faithful  ministers  of  the  church 
than  to  the  ministers  of  the  state. 

A  classical  and  theological  education  is  almost  an  indis- 
pensable preparation,  and  should  be  acquired  at  the  college 
and  seminary;  but  when  this  is  impracticable  or  impos- 
sible, the  course  as  usually  prescribed  by  such  schools,  or 
its  equivalent,  should  be  studied  and  mastered  by  the 
junior  preacher. 

"We  are  not  pleading  so  much  for  a  collegiate  and  pro- 
fessional course  as  for  thorough  mental  culture,  wherever  and 
by  whatever  means  it  may  be  acquired.  The  formality 
of  graduation  can  never  take  the  place  of  true  schol- 
arship, for  "  graduated  "  and  "  educated "  are  not  always 
synonymous  either  theoretically  or  practically.  In  what- 
ever way  this  solid  education  be  imparted,  whether  in  or 
out  of  the  schools,  it  will  always  be  an  advantage  to  sup- 
plement it  with  a  few  months  or  years  of  travel,  especially 
in  Bible-countries,  where  our  theological  knowledge  may 
be  compared,  corrected,  confirmed,  and  in  many  ways  en- 
riched for  the  pulpit. 

"Scholarly  culture  is  also  valuable,  because  it  tends  to 
make  one  intellectually  humble.  Earnest  study  keeps  down 
self-conceit,  since  it  causes  a  man  to  see  how  little  he 
knows,  and  what  are  the  limitations  of  human  knowledge, 
and  what  is  truth's  vastness.    To  know  these  things  is  really 


58  The  Preacher  and  Hts  Sermon. 

the  philosophical  foundation  of  Christianity,  which  is  the 
realization  of  human  nothingness,  and  its  need  of  higher 
enlightenment.  True  theology  is  humble,  because  it  has 
gained  some  conception  of  the  incomprehensibility  of  the 
infinite.  A  man  who  studies  any  branch  of  science  sees 
what  a  life-long  toil  it  requires  to  make  himself  proficient 
in  it,  to  say  nothing  of  mastering  it.  By  study  in  any  di- 
rection, in  any  department  of  knowledge,  one  is  brought  to 
80  many  doors  leading  into  entirely  new  kingdoms  of 
knowledge,  which  he  can  have  no  hope  ever  to  explore, 
that  he  grows  less  self-confident  every  step  he  takes."* 

One  good  reason  for  a  highly  educated  ministry  is  that 
truth  may  be  made  clear  and  simple.  It  requires  no  little 
learning  to  be  plain.  It  is  the  half-educated  men  who  con- 
found their  audiences  with  great  pufiings  of  vg^nity  and 
exhibitions  of  bombast.  The  thoroughly  educated  preacher 
is  lucid,  simple,  and  intelligible,  because  his  words  are 
well  chosen,  his  plans  well  digested,  his  logic  correct. 
Learning  is  not  to  veil  truth,  but  to  bring  it  to  Tight.  It 
makes  us  plain  and  powerful  preachers,  fitted  for  appre- 
ciation by  the  learned  and  the  ignorant.  We  see  this  fact 
illustrated  in  secular  literature.  Shakespeare  is  the  poet  of 
the  masses,  as  well  as  of  the  "  laureate  fraternity,"  because 
his  vivid  images  fiow  from  a  thorough  comprehension  and 
perfect  knowledge  of  men  and  nature.  Lord  Bacon's  under- 
standing addressed  both  peasant  and  philosopher,  because 
it  grasped  firmly  and  saw  entirely  through  what  it  looked 
at.  In  each  of  these  cases  there  was  much  learning  in  the 
sense  of  clear  and  thorough  knowledge.  In  no  sphere  is 
there  greater  need  of  this  learned  plainness  than  in  preach- 
ing. To  illuminate  the  darkened  understanding  and  to 
dispel  the  mist  from  doubting  minds  is  the  crowning  work 
of  preaching. 

X  Hoppin'a  Office  and,  Work  of  the  Chriatian  Ministry,  pp.  4;J7,  4;i8. 


Intellectual  Preparation.  59 

A  little  learning  is  dangerous.  It  not  only  perverts 
doctrine  by  misconception,  but  clouds  simple  truth  with 
obscurity.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  common 
people  can  not  understand  a  profoundly  deep  preacher.  K 
the  water  is  clear,  the  depth  is  easily  seen;  cloudy  water 
obscures  even  shallow  bottom.  "When  Bourdaloue,  than 
whom  France  never  had  a  more  learned  divine,  preached 
in  the  small  village  churches,  it  is  said  that  the  people  were 
astonished  at  his  simplicity,  and  said,  "  Is  this  the  great 
Paris  preacher?  Why,  we  understood  all  he  said."  The 
same  thing  is  said  of  the  learned  Archibald  Alexander, 
Tillotson,  and  others.  True  knowledge  reduces  the  Bible 
to  a  few  simple  but  weighty  doctrines.  Leigh  Richmond 
used  to  say  that  two  great  subjects  pervade  the  Bible,  sin 
and  salvation  from  sin,  and  that  these  ought  to  form  the 
basis  of  the  Christian  ministry.  Said  a  dying  theologian, 
"My  theology  is  now  reduced  to  these  two-  points  —  that  I 
am  a  guilty  sinner,  and  that  the  blood  of  Christ  expiates 
human  guilt. " 

"If  we  examine  the  preaching  of  the  great  and  evangel- 
istic divines  of  the  church  in  all  ages,  we  find  but  one 
general  strain  and  tone.  Everything  is  tinged  with  sin  and 
redemption.  The  fall  and  recovery  of  the  human  soul, 
paradise  lost  and  paradise  regained,  are  the  substance  of 
their  sermonizing.  Like  some  of  the  great  painters,  they  are 
monochromatic;  they  employ  only  one  principal  color."^ 

Again,  our  age  especially  demands  a  highly  educated 
ministry.  Within  a  few  years  a  great  change  has  been  pro- 
duced in  the  intellectual  level  of  all  our  communities.  How 
much  easier  it  was  to  prepare  a  sermon  up  to  the  level  of  an 
ordinary  congregation  fifty  years  ago  than  it  is  to  produce 
one  to-day  that  will  satisfy  the  people.     Our  schools  are 

I  Discourse  delivered  by  Dr.  W.  G.  T.  Shedd  on  Clerical  Education  before  the  American 
Education  Society,  May  28th,  1855. 


6o  The  Preacher  and  His  Semnon. 

every  year  sending  out  a  large  class  of  men  and  women 
who  become  gospel  auditors.  The  minister  is  to  be  their 
instructor.  How  can  he  instruct  unless  he  keeps  himself 
intellectually  in  advance  of  them?  Besides,  good  preach- 
ing has  become  so  abundant  that  people  will  no  longer 
listen  to  a  common-place  sermon. 

"  The  people  of  America,  of  whatever  class,  are  free  to 
hear  whom  they  choose,  or  not  to  hear  at  all,  unless  ad- 
dressed in  a  manner  adapted  to  please  or  profit  them. 
Corresponding  to  this  state  of  things,  the  preachers  of  all 
churches,  together  with  errorists  of  every  description,  are 
in  active  competition  for  the  ears  and  hearts  of  the  masses. 
The  people,  too,  having  great  advantages  for  education, 
and  no  reverence  for  prescriptive  authority,  demand  the 
best  forms  of  Christian  address,  and  such  appeals  to  their 
reason  and  their  emotion  as  challenge  their  respect."  ^ 

This  is  a  restless,  critical,  fastidious  age;  and  to  prove 
equal  to  the  present  demands,  the  minister  of  to-day  must 
be  a  man  of  greater  ability  than  his  predecessor.  So  also 
the  existing  conflict  with  educated  skepticism  calls  for  a 
learned  ministry.  IsTot  that  the  preacher  should  waste  his 
time  in  combating,  in  the  pulpit,  the  present  scientific 
heresies,  but  he  should  show  as  much  ability  in  his  voca- 
tion, and  establish  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  with  as  mas- 
terly a  hand,  as  do  those  literary  skeptics  in  advocating 
their  theories.  The  time  is  coming,  and  is  now,  when  the 
interests  of  the  church  will  require  a  far  broader  and  fuller 
education  in  the  ministry  than  now  exists. 

§   IV.    SPIRITUAL   PREPARATION. 

"We  come  now  to  speak  of  that  most  important  prepa- 
ration, without  which  no  man  is  fit  for  the  pulpit,  what- 
ever his  other  abilities  may  be.      This  third  is  the  bond 

I  McClintock  and  Strong's  Ci/clopedi-x,  Art.  Homiletics. 


spiritual  Preparation.  6 1 

of  perfectness  in  our  triplet  of  qualifications;  and  though 
a  preacher  possess  the  physical  power  of  a  Hercules, 
the  vast  knowledge  of  a  Milton,  or  the  wonderful  imag- 
ination of  a  Shakespeare,  yet  without  a  deep,  vital, 
Christian  experience,  he  would  be  a  sounding  brass  or 
tinkling  cymbal.  This  eminent  fitness  is  not  to  be  acquired 
through  the  exercises  of  a  gymnasium  or  the  curriculum 
of  a  school.  Books,  teachers,  study,  and  an  infiexible  will 
may  produce  anything  but  a  true  preacher.  "ITone  but 
He  who  made  the  world  can  make  a  minister  of  the  gospel. 
If  a  young  man  has  capacity,  culture  and  application  may 
make  him  a  scholar,  a  philosopher,  or  an  orator;  but  a 
true  minister  must  have  certain  principles,  motives,  feel- 
ings, and  aims  which  no  industry  or  endeavors  of  men  can 
either  acquire  or  communicate.  They  must  be  given  from 
above,  or  they  can  not  be  received."^ 

First,  then,  need  I  say  that  a  minister  must  be  genuinely 
converted  in  heart  and  life?  How  can  a  man  show  a 
sinner  the  way  to  Christ  if  he  does  not  know  it  himself? 
There  are  some  instances  of  true  conversion  under  the 
labors  of  an  unregenerate  ministry;  and  no  doubt  some 
souls  have  adorned  their  profession  and  gone  to  heaven, 
while  those  who  first  led  them  to  Christ  were  wicked  men, 
and  have  since  gone  to  perdition.  But  these  exceptional 
cases,  instead  of  being  an  argument  in  favor  of  a  success- 
ful ministry  without  the  requisite  of  conversion,  are  only 
instances  of  God's  universal  government,  who  "  maketh 
even  the  wrath  of  men  to  praise  him."  ITor  should  the 
minister's  conversion  be  involved  in  uncertainty,  so  as  to 
be  in  doubt  as  to  the  time,  genuineness,  and  circumstances 
of  that  most  important  change  in  himself.  Shall  a  man 
be  sure  of  his  title  to  everything  except  his  title  to  heaven? 
How  can  one  without  the  clear  witness  of  his  own  spirit, 

1  John  Kewton's  Wotrki,  Vol.  t.,  p.  62. 


62  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

as  well  as  the  Spirit  of  God,  to  the  truth  of  his  conversion, 
give  instruction  and  counsel  to  inquiring  souls?  Like  Otter- 
bein  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  advice  will  be  "  scarce." 

A  second  spiritual  qualification  for  a  true  preacher  is  a 
large  share  of  the  spirit  of  the  great  Master.  Christ  is 
our  model.  What  was  the  secret  of  his  power?  He  had  the 
eloquence  of  angels,  and  spoke  as  never  man  spake;  pos- 
sessed all  knowledge,  and  could  unfold  all  mysteries.  But 
it  was  not  this  that  made  him  the  triumphant  preacher. 
It  was  love^  the  deepest,  highest,  broadest,  and  grandest 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  It  knew  no  bounds  save  those 
of  the  human  race;  and  like  the  sun,  his  light  shone  upon 
the  good  and  the  evil.  Here,  then,  is  the  true  philosopher's 
stone,  the  alchemy  of  heaven,  that  converts  all  the  baser 
passions  of  men  into  the  golden,  heavenly  loveliness  of 
Christ's  image.  Neptune's  trident  and  Moses'  rod  wielded 
no  such  influence  over  man  and  nature  as  did  the  love  of 
Christ  over  the  hearts  of  men.  This  is  our  "  in  hoc  signo 
vinces."  To  be  furnished  with  Christ's  great  spirit  of  love 
is  to  move  through  the  world  with  the  silent,  potent  power 
of  gravitation,  that  can  carry  the  masses  and  communities 
of  men  in  steady  orbits  around  the  cross  of  Christ. 

John  Wesley,  that  holy  man,  who  dwelt  upon  the  mount 
of  communion  with  God,  whence  he  came  down,  like 
Moses  to  the  people,  radiant  with  the  glory  on  which  he 
was  gazing,  drew  the  multitude  around  him  by  the  magnet 
of  his  broad,  unselfish  love,  not  as  his  worshipers,  but  as 
his  satellites,  moving  with  him  around  the  same  great 
Sun.  No  palisade  around  his  home,  no  sectional  wall  of 
ecclesiastical  caste,  could  prevent  the  outgo  and  over- 
flow of  his  world-wide  love;  and  it  was  that  spirit  of 
full-orbed  benevolence  and  broad  philanthropy  that  made 
him  exclaim,  "  The  world  is  my  parish."  We  must  be 
baptized  with  His  Sj^irit  and  transfigured  witli  His  love  if 


spiritual  Prepa7'ation.  63 

we  would  become  good  Samaritans,  or  lovers  of  the  uni- 
versal brotherhood;  and  we  must  be  lovers  of  men  if  we 
would  win  them  to  Christ.  The  Lord  is  seeking  for  a 
character — a  peculiar  temper  or  spirit  that  is  found  like 
unto  his  own  glorious  Spirit. 

Christ  loved  all  men  for  the  sake  of  their  souls;  and  we 
must  be  in  earnest  sympathy  with  him  in  his  great  enter- 
prise of  redemption.  We  must  travail  for  souls  in  tears 
and  prayers;  have  a  deep  sense  of  the  misery  and  desert 
of  sin;  realize  the  value  of  a  soul  saved  from  death,  and 
labor  earnestly  with  Him  to  rescue  the  temple  of  fallen 
humanity  from  the  curse  of  a  broken  law;  must  be  willing, 
like  Moses,  to  lead  a  life  of  sacrifice  and  self-denial,  and  to 
turn  away  from  the  allurements  of  wealth  and  influence, 
feeling  that  the  humble  path  we  have  chosen  has  rewards 
greater  than  those  of  Egypt.  The  preacher  must  be  hum- 
ble in  spirit,  cheerfully  laying  all  his  ac(^uirements  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus;  and  though  weak  and  unworthy,  he  will 
trust  in  that  grace  which  is  all-sufficient.  He  must  be  a 
man  of  deep  piety  and  loving  spirit,  and  possess  a  reputa- 
tion and  a  character  "  above  suspicion,"  which  have  upon 
them  no  tarnish  of  anything  that  is  evil.  In  brief,  he  must 
be  a  good  man.  Whatever  his  intelligence,  he  must  be  of 
strong  faith,  true  spirituality,  and  deep  earnestness;  a  man 
like  Stephen,  "full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  If,  as 
the  ancient  rhetoricians  taught,  the  orator  must  be  a  good 
man,  how  necessary  that  the  preacher  should  be  a  holy 
man  in  order  to  be  eloquent.  Give  us  muscular,  healthy, 
intellectual  men;  but  above  all,  give  us  holy  men  to  preach 
the  gospel.  "Give  us,"  in  the  language  of  Dr.  Spring, 
"  abler,  better,  and  more  spiritual  preachers,  even  if  they 
must  be  fewer."  What  the  church  wants  is  not  more 
ministers,  but  better  ones.  Says  one  of  much  experience, 
*'  I  have  heard  hundreds  of  preachers  on  both  sides  of  the 


64  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Atlantic,  the  past  twenty-five  years,  and  am  convinced  that 
our  great  lack  is  not  in  the  matter  ot  originality,  but  in 
consecration  of  heart  and  brain  aiid  voice  and  style  to  the  one 
aim  of  exalting  Christ  before  the  eyes  of  men." 

Thus  far  we  have  spoken  of  a  proper  idea  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry,  and  of  a  physical,  mental,  and  religious 
preparation,  as  adaptations  or  qualifications  for  the  sacred 
ofi&ce  of  preaching;  but  were  we  to  stop  here,  we  should 
omit  the  first  and  greatest  indispensable  fitness.  Important 
as  are  all  these,  they  yet  are  only  secondary.  The  primary 
and  all-important  qualification  is  a  divine  call  to  the  work 
of  preaching.  Without  it,  no  one,  however  otherwise  well 
adapted,  will  intrude  on  this  "  holy  ground  "  or  venture  to 
minister  from  the  sacred  desk;  with  it,  he  possesses  the 
highest  credential  fitness,  whether  he  be  learned  or  igno- 
rant, strong  or  weak,  male  or  female.  God  does  sometimes 
choose  "the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
wise,"  and  "the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
things  which  are  mighty;"  but  he  does  not  call  them  to  re- 
main "foolish"  and  "weak."  Self-help  and  divine  aid 
must  co-operate  to  make  such  ones  "  mighty  in  word  and 
deed."     In  this  respect  there  has  been  many  a  Bunyan. 

Though  in  our  list  of  qualifications  we  mention  a  divine 
call  last,  yet  this  really  is  the  first  in  the  order  of  a  preach- 
er's preparation.  Having  once  obtained  this  fundamental 
requisite,  it  is  his  duty  to  become  all  that  is  possible  in 
body,  mind,  and  heart.  But  what  we  now  insist  on  is 
that  he  must  be  sure  of  a  call  from  God  to  preach  his 
gospel.  Of  the  ministry  of  to-day  it  may  be  said,  as  it  was 
of  the  ancient  priesthood,  "No  man  taketh  this  honor 
unto  himself,  but  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron." 
(Heb.  V.  4.)  No  doubt  many  have  mistaken  their  calling, 
and  after  serving  for  a  time  in  the  ministry  have  discov- 
ered  their    mistake   and    gone   to   some   other    business. 


spiritual  Preparation.  65 

Francis  "Wayland,  in  his  excellent  "Letters  on  the  Ministry 
of  the  Gospel,"  says  of  such,  "A  sort  of  medium  course  is 
taken.  Hence,  to-day  all  sorts  of  places  are  filled  with 
ministers.  Colleges,  academies,  schools,  derive  their  in- 
structors, in  a  large  proportion,  from  men  who  have  been 
educated  for  the  ministry.  Agents  for  colleges,  solicitors 
for  their  funds, and  for  the  funds  of  all  our  benevolent  as- 
sociations, are  taken  from  our  educated  clergy.  Editors  of 
religious  newspapers,  and  a  large  part  of  the  staff  of  such 
an  establishment,  are  taken  from  the  same  class.  The  cir- 
culation of  religious  books  is  done  by  ministers." 

Have  all  ministers  who  are  thus  engaged  mistaken  their 
calling?  When  God  calls  a  man  to  the  ministry,  is  that  call 
life-long,  and  the  regular  work  never  to  be  abandoned 
under  any  circumstances?  We  believe  that  an  answer  to 
these  questions  must  admit  exceptions;  for  many  minis- 
ters, such  as  Melanchthon,  Witsius,  Witherspoon,  Dwight, 
and  Graham,  have  served  Christ  as  faithfully  in  the  school- 
room or  university  as  in  the  pulpit.  Yet  it  is,  nevertheless, 
true  that  many  who  have  exchanged  the  pulpit  for  other 
and  lower  pursuits  never  had  a  call  from  God  to  the  work 
of  preaching;  at  least  their  conviction  of  duty  while  in 
the  ministry  has  not  been  strong  enough  to  hold  them  to 
their  post. 

What  are  the  evidences  of  a  true  call  to  the  ministry? 
These  are  various,  and  are  generally  internal  and  mediate, 
rather  than  external  and  immediate.  ITo  one  now  must 
expect  God  to  speak  to  him  in  audible  tones  from  heaven, 
or  wait  for  an  extraordinary  and  miraculous  call.  The 
Lord  employs  means.     These  are: 

First.  A  strong  desire  to  preach.  This  desire  must  be  a 
disinterested  one.  'No  worldly  consideration,  such  as  intel- 
lectual taste,  literary  ease,  opportunity  for  popularity,  or 
any  of  the  secondary  aspects,  must  ever  become  a  desidera- 

6 


66  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

turn  in  our  choice  of  the  ministry.  Our  motive  for  the 
work  must  be  the  salvation  of  souls.  This  desire  must  be 
abiding.  No  young  man  at  the  beginning  can  know  ex- 
perimentally all  the  difficulties  and  temptations  that  may 
in  after  years  make  him  regret  his  choice ;  but  having  at 
the  outset  estimated  everything  at  its  right  figure,  his  desire 
to  preach  continues  with  him  when  tempting  offers  of 
wealth  or  comfort  come  in  to  try  him,  and  even  grows 
more  intense  under  the  test  of  trial  and  by  the  lapse  of 
years  until  it  becomes  a  yearning. 

Second.  A  deep  conviction  of  duty.  Let  no  one  preach 
unless  inwardly  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  Do  not  enter 
the  ministry  if  you  can  help  it,"  was  the  wise  cohnsel  of  a 
divine  to  one  who  sought  his  judgment;  and  our  great  rea- 
son for  entering  the  ministry  and  abiding  there  through 
life  is  this  deep,  settled  feeling:  "Necessity  is  laid  upon  me; 
yea,  woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel."  Against  such 
a  call  it  is  dangerous  to  offer  resistance.  "  Woe  unto  him 
that  striveth  with  his  Maker."  (Isaiah  xlv.  9.)  Remem- 
ber Jonah.  "Even  in  its  faintest  form  there  is  this  dis- 
tinction between  a  call  to  the  ministry  and  a  choice  of 
other  professions:  a  young  man  may  ivish  to  be  a  physi- 
cian; he  may  desire  to  enter  the  army;  he  would  like  to  be 
a  farmer;  but  he  feels  he  ought  to  be  a  minister.  It  is  this 
feeling  of  ought,  or  obligation,  which,  in  its  feeblest  form, 
indicates  the  divine  call.  It  is  not  in  the  aptitude,  taste,  or 
desire,  but  in  the  conscience,  that  its  root  is  found.  It  is 
God's  voice  to  the  human  conscience,  saying,  'You  ought 
to  preach.' "  * 

Third.  The  judgment  and  appi'ovcd  of  God's  j^eople.  (See 
Acts  vi.  1-6.)  Yet  this  approval  is  not  final.  The  maxim, 
"  Vox  populi  vox  Dei,"  is  neither  infallible  nor  safe,  and  only 
to  be  estimated  in  proportion  to  the  intelligence  and  piety 

I  Simpsoa's   i'ale  Lectures,  p.  4G. 


Common  Sense.  Gj 

of  those  consulted.  In  the  act  of  setting  apart  a  man  to 
the  sacred  office  of  the  ministry,  both  candidate  and  people 
must  have  convictions  of  the  most  solemn  responsibility. 
Here,  again,  I  quote  Dr.  "Wayland:  "If  the  candidate 
declares  out  of  mere  form  that  he  is  inwardly  moved  to 
preach;  if  those  who  give  him  their  sanction  do  it  without 
inquiry,  examination,  or  satisfactory  knowledge  of  his 
qualifications,  then  both  are  guilty  of  lying  to  the  Holy 
■Ghost.  K  both  parties  act  as  it  becomes  men  under  such 
responsibilities,  there  will  be  no  great  danger  of  mistake. 
A  fallible  being  will  fail  somewhere;  but  there  is  here  as 
little  liability  to  failure  as  falls  to  men  in  any  of  the  ordi- 
nary affairs  of  life."  ^ 

These  three  motives  we  consider  the  main  evidences  of  a 
divine  call.  There  are,  it  is  true,  other  minor  considera- 
tions that  enter  into  the  list  of  evidences,  such  as  a  high 
estimate  of  the  ministry,  and  some  physical  and  mental 
adaptation.  With  these  marks,  any  man  who  is  honest 
with  himself  in  applying  these  tests  in  his  self-examina- 
tion will  have  no  occasion  to  err  in  solving  this  important 
problem.  Let  him  ask  himself  the  question,  "Why  do  I 
wish  to  preach?"  And  if  he  can  get  the  candid  response 
from  within,  "  Because  God  and  the  church  demand  it,  and 
my  own  passion  for  souls  will  give  me  no  rest  until  I  yield 
to  this  request,"  then  let  him  no  longer  question  his  divine 
appointment,  but  at  once  begin  the  work  of  special  prepa- 
ration and  consecration  so  necessary  to  success  in  his  new 
calling. 

§    V.      COMMON    SENSE. 

This  is  not  a  thing  common  to  all,  but  on  the  other 
hand  is  a  somewhat  rare  gift.  It  is  the  master-talent,  inas- 
much as  it  tempers  and  regulates  all  the  other  ministerial 
qualifications  so  that  they  appear  seemly  and  beautiful  in 

X  Letters  on  the  Ministry  of  the  Oospel,  p.  35. 


68  The  Preacher  and  His  Se7'moii, 

the  possessor,  neither  offending  others  by  their  abuse  nor 
distinguishing  himself  by  eccentricities.  Theremin,  wha 
founds  eloquence  in  virtue,  says  that  the  moral  action  is 
also  good  sense,  since  ethics  includes  the  whole  conduct  of 
man,  and  must  therefore  furnish  the  means  requisite  to 
attain  rational  ends.^ 

Common  sense,  according  to  Shedd,  "is  that  innate 
sagacity  of  the  understanding  which  detects  truth  by  a 
sort  of  instinct."  Prof.  Stowe,  of  Andover,  used  to  define 
it  as  "  the  ability  to  see  things  as  they  are,  and  the  knack 
of  doing  things  as  they  ought  to  be  done."  Another 
preacher  of  clear  discrimination  says,  "We  raay  describe  it 
as  an  intuitive  perception  of  the  fitness  of  things,  so  that 
he  who  is  endowed  with  it  will  always  do  that  which  is 
appropriate  to  the  circumstances.  It  is  different  from 
caution,  or  what  is  generally  known  as  prudence;  inas- 
much as  that  is  the  result  of  calculation,  while  common 
sense  is  rather  an  immediate  perception.  *  *  *  *  jje 
who  lacks  this  quality  has  no  right  to  be  a  minister,  for  he 
turns  the  most  sacred  things  into  a  laughing-stock,  and 
makes  a  burlesque  of  the  ofiice  itself.  *  *  *  *  Common 
sense  can  not  be  acquired.  Yet  in  those  who  have  it,  it 
may  be  cultivated  and  increased."  ^ 

The  utter  lack  of  common  sense  on  the  part  of  a  preacher 
is  a  serious  and  incurable  defect.  Nothing  can  take  its 
place  or  lead  to  its  attainment.  It  is  an  original  endow- 
ment, and  its  absence  is  an  evidence  of  unfitness  for 
preaching. 

Whenever  a  student  commenced  his  course  of  study  in  a 
certain  Presbyterian  school,  the  president  was  accustomed 
to  address  him  thus:  "  Young  man,  if  you  want  learning, 
we  are  here  to  give  it  you;  if  you  want  grace,  we  can  tell 

t  Cf.  Systematic  Rhetoric,  pp.  86,  87. 

■  W.  M.  Taylor's  Yalt  Lectures,  pp.  76, 7«. 


Common  Sense.  69 

you  where  to  get  it;  but  if  you  lack  common  sense,  may 
God  have  mercy  on  you.  "We  know  of  no  source  of  sup- 
ply either  in  the  heavens  above,  or  the  earth  beneath,  or 
the  waters  under  the  earth."  Happy  the  candidate  who 
possesses  it!     Let  him  improve  it  with  jealous  care. 

Good  common  sense  is  especially  needed  by  public  speak- 
ers, who  address  themselves  to  other  people  in  a  way  that 
attracts  the  most  conspicuous  notice,  and  gives  intelligent 
observers  the  best  opportunity  of  detecting  their  saddest 
infirmities.  In  the  Christian  minister,  as  the  representa- 
tive of  every  moral  excellence,  is  it  especially  desirable, 
for  people  certainly  expect  something  reasonable  from 
the  gospel,  and  from  those  who  teach  and  advocate  it. 
No  one  can  be  truly  eloquent  without  it,  for  "  fools  can 
persuade  none  but  fools."  To  persuade  men  of  sense  you 
must  first  convince  them  that  you  yourself  have  sense,  that 
you  are  not  a  dolt,  but  the  most  sensible  of  men,  who  seeks 
to  satisfy  their  understanding  of  the  reasonableness  of 
what  you  propose  to  them. 

For  want  of  common  sense  preachers  become  visionary, 
bombastic,  pedantic,  ignorant,  and  uncultured.  Even  their 
best  mental  acquirements  will  not  save  them  from  impro- 
prieties and  erroneous  judgment.  Affectation,  or  the  desire 
to  appear  to  be  what  we  are  not,  is  a  proof  of  its  absence. 
The  most  natural  thing  then  becomes  the  most  unnatural. 
All  kinds  of  dramatical,  sensational,  and  nonsensical  means 
are  employed  for  the  sake  of  effect.  It  is,  indeed,  a  pitiable 
eight  when  a  minister  becomes  the  victim  of  such  unrea- 
eonableness. 


CHAPTER    III. 

SPECIAL  PREPARATION. 

Theoretical  Homiletics — Practical  Homiletics — Gathering  of  HomileticaJ 

Material. 

The  preacher  needs  not  only  a  general  preparation  foi 
the  ministry,  but  also  a  special  preparation  in  his  own  art» 
"It  is  not  enough  that  he  be  acquainted  with  those  leading 
departments  in  which  every  educated,  and  especially  every 
professional  man,  is  interested;  he  must  also  be  master  of 
that  specific  art  and  department,  upon  which  the  clerical 
profession  is  more  immediately  founded."' 

A  good  theologian  may  be  a  poor  preacher.  A  healthy^ 
pious  man,  with  all  the  requirements  that  go  to  make  up 
the  pulpit  orator,  may  be  no  orator  at  all.  He  needs  a 
special  culture.  The  student  of  every  literary  profession 
needs  a  general  adaptation  for  his  calling,  as  a  foundation 
for  success'  therein,  but  by  far  the  most  important  requi- 
sition is  the  study  and  mastery  of  his  own  special  art. 
Hence,  a  brief  outline  of  theoretical  and  practical  homi- 
letics, together  with  a  cursory  survey  of  the  field  from 
which  most  homiletical  material  is  derived,  is  the  object  of 
this  chapter. 

§    I.      THEORETICAL   HOMILETICS. 

This  treats  of  preaching  as  a  science,  based  upon  funda- 
mental principles  in  the  application  of  rhetoric  to  homi- 
letics.   

X  Shedd's  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  62. 

70 


Theoretical  Homiletics.  *]\ 

A  systematic  classification  might  be  arranged  into  four 
departments;  namel}'',  Historical  Homiletics,  which  consists 
in  a  history  of  preaching  in  all  times  and  countries;^  De- 
finitive Homiletics,  to  which  belongs  all  that  pertains  to 
the  principle,  nature,  object,  and  variety  of  the  sermon; 
Constructive  Homiletics,  or  the  actual  composition  of  the 
sermon;  and  Operative  Homiletics,  which  includes  all  that 
is  connected  with  the  delivery  of  sermons.  All  these  sub- 
jeas  are  more  or  less  discussed  in  every  systematic  treatise 
on  preaching. 

Dr.  Dale,  in  his  "  Yale  Lectures,"  advises  young  minis- 
ters to  read  every  book  on  preaching  that  they  can  buy  or 
borrow,  whether  it  is  old  or  new.  Catholic  or  Protestant, 
English,  French,  or  German;  but  as  their  number  is  too 
great  to  justify  any  preacher  in  reading  them  all,  we  will 
mention  only  such  as  deserve  careful  perusal. 

1.  ^'■Concerning  the  Priesthood"  (Ih/je  ' kfiojauvrj)  by  Chry- 
sostom,  is  a  celebrated  treatise  on  the  priesthood,  written 
at  an  early  period  of  his  ministry,  in  which  he  treats  of 
the  dignity  and  elevation  of  the  Christian  priesthood  in 
words  that  set  one's  spirit  aglow.  Nothing  can  exceed  the 
earnestness  with  which  he  urges  the  importance  of  spir- 
itual, moral,  and  intellectual  qualification  for  an  office  the 
highest  that  can  be  filled  by  man.  It  has  been  translated 
by  B.  H.  Cowper. 

2.  '■'■Concerning  Christian  Teaching"  {De  Doctrina  Chris- 
tiana),  by  Augustine.  The  first  three  books  of  this  work 
are  on  invention,  the  fourth  on  utterance.  It  is  an  admi- 
rable treatise,  combining  good  sense  and  burning  feeling. 
Its  translation  into  English  may  be  found  in  the  "  Biblical 
Repository,"  I.,  p.  569. 

3.  "  Dialogues  on  Eloquence,  and  particularly  that  of  the 

1  This  subject  is  so  extensive  in  its  matter  that  it  should  be  treated  in  a  work  by 
Itself. 


72  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Pulpit,"  by  M.  de  Fenelon,  Arclibishop  of  Cambray. 
This  work  is  a  classic,  and  was,  no  doubt,  suggested  by 
Cicero's  dialogues  on  oratory;  but  they  have  been  admired 
throughout  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  worlds.  They 
were  translated  from  the  French  in  1722,  and  are  to  be 
found  in  a  volume  entitled,  "  Preacher  and  Pastor." 

4.  ''Eloquence  a  Virtue,"  by  Dr.  Francis  Theremin,  was 
translated  from  the  German  into  English  in  1859.  This 
work  proceeds  on  the  principle  of  the  highest  ethical  char- 
acter of  all  true  eloquence;  that  its  basis  is  virtue.  There- 
min was  the  first  who  fully  unfolded  and  illustrated  the 
idea  of  the  ancients,  that  the  orator  must  be  a  good  man, 
and  this  is  the  vitalizing  principle  of  the  whole  subject  of 
his  Systematic  Rhetoric.  The  introduction,  by  the  transla- 
tor. Dr.  Shedd,  is  excellent. 

5.  "Hints  on  Extemporaneous  Preaching,"  by  Henry 
"Ware,  jr.,  is  a  brief  but  able  and  valuable  treatise  on  the 
subject  of  its  title.  It  is  now  printed  in  Ripley's  "  Sacred 
Rhetoric."  M.  Bautain's  "Art  of  Extempore  Speaking" 
may  be  read  in  connection  with  "Ware  with  great  profit. 

6.  "  Lectures  on  Homiletics  and  Preaching,  and  on  Public 
Prayer,"  by  Ebenezer  Porter,  D.  D.,  was  the  first  system- 
atic work  on  homiletics  written  in  America,  and  was 
published  just  before  the  author's  death.  It  is  an  instruct- 
ive and  valuable  discussion  on  the  subject  of  preaching  and 
prayer.  Though  out  of  print  in  this  country,  it  has  been 
republished  in  England. 

7.  "JEcclesiastes  Anglicanus;  a  Treatise  on  Preaching,  as 
adapted  to  a  Church  of  England  Congregation,"  by  W.  Gres- 
ley,  has  many  points  of  merit  to  ministers  of  all  countries 
and  denominations. 

8.  "Homiletics;  or,  The  Theory  of  Preaching,"  by  Alex. 
Vinet,  D.  D.,  is  a  posthumous  work  consisting  of  notes 
taken  by  students  of  the  addresses  of  the  author.    Though 


Theoretical  Homiletics.  73 

incomplete  in  its  range  of  subjects,  it  is  a  book  of  rare 
merit,  and  is  extensively  used  by  the  clergy  even  in  our 
day.  It  was  ably  translated  by  Thomas  H.  Skinner,  D.  D., 
in  1853. 

9.  "J.n  Earnest  Ministry  the  Want  of  the  TimeSy'  by  J. 
Angell  James,  of  Birmingham.  This  work  is  an  enlarged 
edition  of  a  sermon  preached  by  him  at  the  anniversary 
celebration  of  Cheshunt  College.  It  is  devoted  to  the 
enforcement  of  earnestness  in  the  matter,  manner,  delivery, 
and  means  of  preaching,  and  is  marked  by  that  distinct- 
ness, point,  and  fervor  for  which  the  author  was  so  emi- 
nently distinguished. 

10.  ^'Delivery  of  Sermons,"  by  A.  Monod,  is  a  lecture 
delivered  while  the  author  was  professor  in  the  French 
Protestant  Theological  School  at  Montauban.  It  is  full  of 
good  and  practical  advice  on  the  subject.  It  is  published 
in  Fish's  "  Select  Discourses." 

11.  ^'Thoughts  on  Preaching,"  by  Daniel  Moore,  is  cath- 
olic in  spirit,  sensible  and  scholarly  in  its  treatment. 

12.  "  Thoughts  on  Preaching,"  by  J.  W.  Alexander,  D.  D. 
This  is  a  posthumous  publication.  The  author  was  in  the 
habit  of  jotting  down  from  time  to  time  whatever  occurred 
to  him  on  the  subject  of  preaching.  These  notes,  with  a 
series  of  letters  to  young  ministers,  and  several  articles 
published  in  the  "  Princeton  Review,"  constitute  the  pres- 
ent volume.  It  is  fragmentary  and  poorly  arranged,  but 
brimful  of  fresh,  vivid,  practical,  and  eminently  useful 
thoughts. 

13.  '■^Letters  on  the  Ministry  of  the  Gosjpel,"  by  Francis 
"Wayland.  This  is  a  small  book,  containing  many  excellent 
hints  for  the  preacher. 

14.  "  The  Duty  and  the  Discipline  of  Extemporaneous 
Preaching,"  by  F.  B.  Zincke,  contains  much  of  the  au- 
thor's  own   experience  in  acquiring   an   extemporaneous 


74  1^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

style  of  preaching,  with  some  remarks  on  the  composition 
of  sermons,  and  the  aims  and  subjects  of  sermons. 

15.  "  Treatise  on  Homiletics"  by  Daniel  P.  Kidder,  D.  D., 
late  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary,  Madison,  N.  J.,  was 
written  while  the  author  was  professor  in  the  Biblical  In- 
stitute at  Evanston,  111.  (Methodist),  and  revised  in  1868. 
The  work  is  well  adapted  for  a  text-book,  covers  a  wide 
range  of  subjects  containing  much  valuable  instruction^ 
and  presents  the  most  complete  list  of  homiletical  litera- 
ture of  any  work  extant,  although  the  author's  idea  of  a 
sermon  is  somewhat  complicated,  and  lacks  simplicity  in 
form. 

16.  "Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology,''^  by  W.  G.  T. 
Shedd,  D.  D.  The  first  part,  on  homiletics  proper,  is  not 
by  any  means  complete  in  its  range  of  topics,  but  every 
subject,  under  his  skillful  hand,  is  fully  and  vigorously  dis- 
cussed in  a  scholarly  and  earnest  Christian  manner,  which 
makes  it  the  best  treatment  to  be  found  on  the  subjects 
considered.  It  is  the  union  of  the  philosophy  and  practice 
of  homiletics  that  gives  it  a  stamp  of  great  merit. 

17.  ^'A  Treatise  on  the  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Ser- 
mons," by  John  A.  Broadus,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.  This  is  un- 
doubtedly the  best  text-book  on  homiletics  for  the  use 
of  students  and  junior  preachers  that  has  yet  been  issued. 
It  touches  on  nearly  all  topics  of  interest  to  the  preacher^ 
many  of  which  are  treated  in  a  very  able  and  practical 
manner.  The  author  is  fully  acquainted  with  the  htera- 
ture  on  the  subject,  and  his  valuable  treatise  is  the  result 

)f  much  investigation  and  reflection. 

18.  ''For  the  Work  of  the  Ministry,"  by  W.  G.  Blaikie^ 
D.  D.,  LL,  D.  This  is  a  manual  of  homiletical  and  pas- 
toral theology,  most  of  which  was  delivered  by  the  author 
to  the  students  of  the  New  College,  Edinburgh,  in  hia 
"  Course  of  Ecclesiastical  and  Pastoral  Theology."  The 
part  on  homiletics  is  admirable. 


Theoretical  Homiletics.  75 

19.  ^^  The  Theory  of  Preaching"  bj  Austin  Phelps,  D.  D., 
late  professor  of  Sacred  Rhetoric  in  Andover  Theological 
Seminary.  This  is  an  elaborate  discussion  on  the  "  Text, 
Explanation,  Introduction,  Proposition,  Divisions,  Devel- 
opment, and  Conclusion  of  the  Sermon,"  which  constitutes 
the  entire  bulk  of  the  work.  These  lectures  are  constructed 
on  the  practical  method.  Nine  tenths  of  the  book,  we  are 
told,  consists  of  answers  to  inquiries  of  students.  It  is  read- 
able, and  contains  much  worth  noting,  but  is  too  limited  in 
its  range  of  subjects  for  a  complete  "Theory  of  Preaching." 
It  contains  a  valuable  appendix  on  homiletical  and  pas- 
toral studies. 

20.  ''Homiletics;'  by  J.  M.  Hoppin,  of  Yale  College. 
This  late  work  is  an  enlarged  and  revised  edition  of 
his  former  work  on  "  The  Office  and  Work  of  the  Chris- 
tian Ministry,"  issued  in  1869,  and  this  the  author  intends 
to  follow  with  another,  upon  pastoral  theology.  The  part 
on  "  History  of  Preaching  "  is  very  extensive,  covering  two- 
hundred  and  thirty  pages,  and  is  a  valuable  addition  to  hia 
former  treatise  on  the  subject. 

To  this  list  of  homiletical  literature  we  might  add  the 
several  series  of  lectures  on  preaching,  delivered  in  the 
Lyman  Beecher  Lectureship  of  the  Theological  Depart- 
ment in  Yale  College,  during  the  last  decade,  by  the  fol- 
lowing preachers:  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  1872-1874; 
Rev.  John  Hall,  D.  D.,  1875;  Rev.  W.  M.  Taylor,  D.  D., 
1876;  Rev.  Phillips  Brooks,  D.  D.,  1877;  Rev.  R.  W.  Dale, 
D.  D.,  1878;  Bishop  M.  Simpson,  D.  D.,  1879;  Rev.  Howard 
Crosby,  D.  D.,  1880;  Rev.  Joseph  Duryea,  D.  D.,  1881.^ 

Every  preacher  should  read  Spurgeon's  "  Lectures  to  my 
Students,"  delivered  to  the  students  of  the  Pastors'  Col- 
lege, Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  London.^ 

I  Dr.  Duryea  failed  after  his  first  lecture  in  consequence  of  ill  health. 
3  The  second  series  of  these  lectures  has  never  been  published  in  this  country  exoopt 
In  the  Homiietia  Monthly,  published  by  Funk  .S:  Wagnalls,  X.  Y. 


76  The  Preacher  aiid  His  Sertnon. 

The  student  might  read  with  much  profit  several  excel- 
lent articles  on  various  subjects  of  homiletics  in  some  of 
the  leading  reviews  and  quarterlies,  such  as:  in  "Biblio- 
theca  Sacra,"  "  Pulpit  Eloquence,"  Vol.  II. ;  "  American 
Pulpit,"  Vol.  III.;  " Reinhardt's  Sermons,"  Vol.  VI.;  "The 
Three  Fundamental  Methods  of  Preaching,"  1871;  and 
"  Power  in  the  Pulpit,"  Vol.  III.  In  "  Princeton  Eeview," 
<' Textual  and  Topical  Preaching,"  1875;  "The  Pulpit  and 
Skeptical  Culture,"  1879;  "Materialism  and  the  Pulpit," 
1878.  In  "  Edinburgh  Review,"  "  Whitefield  and  Froude," 
Vol.  LXVIII.  In  "North  British  Review,"  "Modern 
Preaching,"  Vol.  XXIV.  In  "  British  and  Foreign  Evan- 
gelical Review,"  "The  Preaching  for  the  Age,"  Vol.  III. 

Of  course,  the  preacher  will  not  overlook  the  principal 
magazines,  devoted  to  homiletics  which  are  now  published 
in  America  and  Europe.^ 

On  historical  homiletics  we  would  recommend:  Moule's 
^'Christian  Oratory  during  the  First  Five  Centuries;" 
ITeale's  "Medieval  Preachers  and  Preaching;"  Broadus' 
"History  of  Preaching;"  Paniel's  " Pragmatische  Ge- 
schichte  der  Christlichen  Beredsamkeit;"  and  Lentz' 
"Geschichte  der  Christlichen  Homiletik. " 

But  as  homiletics  is  based  upon  rhetoric,  we  should  also 
be  acquainted  with  the  best  authors  on  rhetoric,  first  among 
whom  stands  Aristotle.  His  rules  of  rhetoric  apply  to 
every  sort  of  composition.  They  are  founded  on  human 
nature,  and  must  remain  the  same,  therefore,  as  long  as 
human  nature  continues  unchanged.  The  subjects  of 
Proof  (  fJcffzii:),  Elocution  (Ae^e^),  and  Disposition  {Td^c^)y 
constitute  the  most  general  arrangement  of  his  work. 
Books  I.  and  II.  treat  of  the  first,  and  Book  III.  of  the 
second  and  third.     Cicero's     JDe   Oratore     abounds   with 


I  Among  the  principal  tnaf^azincs  of  this  class  we  mention  The  ITomilctie  Monthl;/,  'Sevr 
York;  7'he  Homiletic  Quarterly,  (now  magazine)  London  and  Now  York;  The.  Homilist,  Lon- 
•don;  The  World  Pulpit,  London;  and  The  Lay  Preacher,  hondon. 


Practical  Homiletics.  77 

excellent  practical  hints,  although  "his  system  is  not  so 
complete  as  that  of  Aristotle,  for  he  delighted  more  in  the 
practice  than  in  the  theory  of  his  art."  Quintilian,  in  hia 
"Institutes,"  is  systematic,  and  maintains,  with  more  em- 
phasis than  Cicero,  that  eloquence  is  ethical  in  nature  and 
that  the  orator  must  be  a  good  man ;  but  he  can  not  be  said 
to  have  much  extended  the  philosophical  views  of  his  pred- 
ecessors. Campbell's  "Philosophy  of  Rhetoric"  possesses 
much  practical  and  permanent  value.  If  the  clerical  stu- 
dent desires  to  further  extend  his  knowledge  of  rhetoric, 
let  him  acquaint  himself  with  Horace,  Whately,  Bain, 
Haven,  and  Day,  where  useful  instruction  can  always 
be  obtained. 

§   II.      PRACTICAL   HOMILETICS. 

This  treats  of  preaching  as  an  art.  It  is  the  rules  of 
homiletics  applied  to  actual  practice,  as  illustrated  in  the 
preaching  of  our  most  successful  ministers.  It  is  not 
enough  that  the  clerical  student  understand  tools;  he  must 
also  know  the  work  and  the  workers;  that  is,  he  must 
study  sermons  and  preachers  in  such  a  way  as  to  discover 
wherein  lies  the  secret  of  their  success.  "  Learn  on  what 
principles  the  great  preachers  of  other  churches,  as  well  as 
of  your  own,  of  ancient  as  well  as  of  modern  times,  have 
done  their  work."^ 

The  number  of  printed  sermons  is  legion,  and  the 
preacher  must  pass  by  the  great  mass  of  ordinary  ser- 
monic  literature  and  read  only  those  of  standard  value. 
We  will  mention  a  few  such  acknowledged  models  which 
he  should  carefully  study. 

1.  John^  surnamed  Chrysostom,  the  "  Golden -mouthed 
pulpit  orator  of  the  Greek  Church,"  may  properly  be 
selected,  as  the  best  model,  from  the  many  preachers  of  the 
ancient  and  medieval  church. 

X  Dr.  Dale's  Yale  Lectures, 


78  The  Preacher  and  His  Sej^mon. 

As  a  preacher,  he  was  earnest,  practical,  and  eminently 
scriptural  and  eloquent.  The  union  of  the  natural,  pa- 
thetic, and  grand  made  him  the  greatest  orator  of  the 
primitive  church.  "  The  people  were  often  completely 
carried  away  by  his  eloquence,  and  acted  like  drunken 
persons;  they  pressed  up  to  the  pulpit  where  he  spoke,  so 
as  not  to  lose  a  single  word;  they  said,  when  he  was  about 
to  be  banished,  'Better  that  the  sun  should  cease  to  shine 
than  that  our  Chrysostom's  mouth  should  be  stopped;' 
even  the  cold  Gibbon  praises  his  golden  eloquence,  and 
another  has  said,  'His  tongue  flowed  like  the  stream  of  the 
Nile.'"^  His  sermons,  extant,  over  six  hundred  in  number, 
though  destitute  of  plan  or  method,  are  plain  and  clear  in 
style,  full  of  vivid  illustrations,  and  expository  in  mode  of 
treatment.  It  is  especially  in  this  last  respect  that  they 
Are  worthy  models  of  imitation,  even  in  our  time. 

His  best  sermons  are  those  on  Lazarus,  images,  repent- 
ance, the  parable  of  the  debtor,  forgiveness,  and  alms- 
giving. One  might  spend  a  whole  year  in  studying  these 
expository  discourses,  which  contain  nearly  every  variety 
of  pulpit  excellency. 

2.  Martin  Luther.  He  rescued  preaching  from  the  low, 
secular,  and  formal  state  into  which  it  had  sunk  during  the 
corruption  of  the  church,  and  restored  it  to  its  true  evangeli- 
cal and  scriptural  character;  and  it  was  chiefly  through  his 
stirring  sermons  that  the  Reformation  was  inaugurated  and 
prosecuted. 

His  pulpit  discourses  are  largely  doctrinal,  with  a  con- 
troversial drift  against  the  pope  and  the  Roman  hierarchy, 
but  exhibit  a  deep  Christian  experience  and  faith,  great 
convictions  and  feelings,  and  an  earnestness  of  which 
Melanchthon  said,  "Luther's  words  were  born,  not  on  his 
lips,  but  in  his  soul." 

1  J.  M.  Hoppiu's  HomiUtici,  p.  101. 


Practical  Hojniletics,  79 

As  to  their  simplicity,  Luther  himself  says,  "When  T 
preach,  I  regard  neither  doctors  nor  masters,  of  which  there 
are  in  the  church  about  forty.  But  I  have  an  eye  to  the 
multitude  of  young  people,  children,  and  servants.  I 
preach  to  them." 

3.  Jeremy  Taylor,  "  The  Poet  Preacher,"  was  the  greatest 
ornament  of  the  English  pulpit  up  to  the  middle  of  the 
•eighteenth  century.  His  sermons  exhibit  a  variety  of  style 
ranging  from  the  best  to  the  worst.  He  is  pre-eminently 
distinguished  for  his  poetic  imagination  and  classic  erudi- 
tion. ITo  imagination  ever  made  loftier  and  more  advent- 
urous voyages  into  gorgeous,  cloudy  regions  than  that  of 
Jeremy  Taylor.  His  affluence  of  elegant  diction  and 
charming  imagery  is  absolutely  unparalleled.  "Along 
with  all  this  there  is  poured  out  upon  us  a  profusion  of 
learning  as  from  a  golden  horn  of  plenty."^  But  his  ser- 
mons also  have  many  defects.  The  copiousness  of  his 
diction  often  terminates  in  pleonasm  and  bombast,  his  sen- 
tences usually  are  long  and  circuitous,  and  his  language  is 
profusely  studded  with  classical  allusions  and  quotations; 
but  all  in  all,  he  was,  nevertheless,  the  most  brilliant,  if  not 
the  most  evangelical,  preacher  of  his  time.^  The  study  of 
his  sermons  will  be  profitable  for  their  richness  of  thought 
and  copiousness  of  language;  and  one  whose  style  is  natu- 
rally dry  and  sluggish  should  daily  read  one  of  Taylor's 
sermons  as  a  stimulant  to  warmer  effusions  of  thought  and 
language. 

4.  Isaac  Barrow.  Here  we  have  at  once  a  philologist, 
a  mathematician,  and  a  preacher.  His  intellect  was  of  the 
highest  order,  and  his  sermons  are  noted  for  argumentation 
and  exhaustiveness;  and  on  this  account  Charles  II.  called 
him  "an  unfair  preacher,  because  he  exhausted  every  sub- 

1  Princeton  Review,  Vol.  XXVI.,  July,  1854. 

2  Cf.  Hoppin's  HomUetics. 


8o  The  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermon. 

ject  and  left  nothing  for  others  to  say  after  him."  He  was 
also  an  original  thinker.  His  discourses  are  store-houses  of 
fresh,  vigorous  thought,  and  are  read  by  a  multitude  of 
speakers  and  thinkers.  Even  the  great  Chatham  took  him 
for  a  model,  reading  over  some  of  his  sermons  as  often  as 
twenty  times.  From  a  desire  to  spread  the  whole  subject 
before  his  hearers,  he  often  became  prolix  and  redundant; 
but  his  lengthy  discussions  are  characterized  by  massive 
streng-th  rather  than  by  diffuseness  of  style.  "  Read  Jeremy 
Taylor  to  enrich  the  fancy,  but  Barrow  to  enrich  the  intel- 
lect, and  to  show  how  the  greatest  copiousness  may  unite 
with  great  compactness  and  great  energy  of  movement."^ 

5.  Robert  South.  His  sermons  are  excellent  models  of 
the  sermonic  art.  We  are  speaking  only  of  his  style, 
without  recommending  the  spirit  of  many  of  his  sermons; 
for  "  he  is  greater  as  a  sermon-maker  than  as  a  genuine 
preacher  of  the  gospel.  He  had  more  grit  than  grace."* 
He  is  witty  and  sarcastic,  his  bitterest  ridicule  being  chiefly 
directed  against  the  Puritans;  but  in  point  of  style,  he 
furnishes  the  best  model  of  pulpit  eloquence.  Few  can 
equal  him  in  vigor  of  language,  especially  in  his  command 
of  Saxon -English  style.  In  his  delineation  of  human 
nature  he  is  the  peer  of  Shakespeare.  He  is  clear,  strong, 
incisive,  and  practical;  and  he  does  not  indulge  in  classi- 
cism, as  do  his  eminent  contemporaries.  We  know  of  no 
better  model  for  the  orator,  and  "his  sermons  are  well 
worthy  of  frequent  perusal  by  every  young  preacher." 

6.  Bourdaloue,  "  The  Prince  of  French  Preachers."  In 
the  triumvirate  of  the  great  Roman  Catholic  preachers, — 
Bourdaloue,  Bossuet,  and  Massillon,— Bourdaloue  is  the 
greatest,  and  affords  the  best  model.  He  has  been  called 
"the  founder   of  modern   pulpit    eloquence    among    the 


I  Broadua'  Uistary  of  Preaching,   p.  216. 
a  Hoppin's  Homiletics,  p.  191. 


Practical  Homiletics.  8 1 

French."  He  had  every  physical  and  mental  qualification 
required  for  an  orator;  possessed  what  is  a  rare  combina- 
tion,— solid  reasoning-force,  together  with  a  lively  imagina- 
tion. His  sermons  are  a  study  for  logicians  as  well  as 
orators.  They  appeal  to  the  intellect  and  the  conscience, 
and  are  full  of  interest  and  spiritual  power,  giving  his 
utterances  the  impress  of  a  strong  and  earnest  faith  in  the 
spiritual  life.  He  despised  the  empty  rhetoric  of  his  pred- 
ecessor's, and  labored  to  bring  back  the  merely  ornamental 
style  of  French  preaching  to  its  pristine  soberness  and 
vigor.  He  did  not  utterly  ignore  elegant  expressions,  but 
uttered  real  and  rousing  thought  in  pleasing  forms  of  dic- 
tion, which  gives  strength  and  beauty  to  all  his  sermons. 

7.  Saurin.  Saurin  was  a  great  thinker  and  a  true 
orator.  In  the  French  Protestant  Church  no  preacher 
equals  him  in  solid  thought  and  evangelical  spirit.  He 
possessed  an  energetic  nature  which  swelled  into  passionate 
earnestness  during  the  delivery  of  his  sermons.  They  are 
full  of  eloquent  thought,  aimed  chiefly  at  the  edification  of 
the  hearer,  and  comprise  in  the  range  of  subjects  an  entire 
system  of  theology.  His  discourses  are  modeled  after  the 
plan  of  the  classic  oration;  and  for  this  reason  some  think 
that  he  is  too  much  of  a  declaimer,  dealing  too  mucli  in 
abstract  and  general  thoughts,  and  neglecting  to  apply 
truth  to  the  practical  duties  of  daily  life.  But  as  a  faith- 
ful preacher,  strong  reasouer,  and  accomplished  orator,  he 
deserves  careful  study.  Among  the  many  able  French 
divines,  we  should  select  for  our  reading,  mainly,  Bourda- 
loue  and  Saurin. 

8.  John  Wesley.  The  great  founder  of  Methodism  did 
much,  to  revive  the  true  evangelical  spirit  of  preaching 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  "  He  preached,  with  the  ear- 
nestness of  intense  conviction,  the  full,  free,  and  sovereign 
grace  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  every  soul  that  would 


82  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

trust  itself  to  it  for  eternal  life.  He  blew  again  the  gospel 
trumpet  and  rallied  the  hosts  of  God  to  hope  and  faith 
and  a  new  life.  His  style  of  preaching  was  clear  and  flow- 
ing, and  more  calm  and  orderly  than  that  of  Whitefield, 
He  was  a  man  of  logical  and  literary  culture,  and  did  not 
despise  learning.  His  agreeable  manners,  unassuming  dig- 
nity and  authority,  and  his  saintly  simplicity  of  life  aided 
his  power  as  a  preacher.  *  *  *  *  Wesley's  sermons 
are  short,  pithy,  clearly-arranged,  pointed,  and  very  plain 
in  style."  ^ 

9.  Bohert  Hall  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  extempora- 
neous preachers.  His  sermons  which  we  have  to-day  were 
taken  down  either  by  short-hand  reporters,  or  were  written 
out  by  himself  after  delivery.  He  was  a  scholar,  but  espe- 
cially a  model  preacher;  and  as  an  orator,  he  ranks  with 
Bourdaloue  and  Saurin.  He  was  one  of  the  most  evenly- 
balanced  men  that  the  English  pulpit  ever  had,  possessing 
an  admirable  proportion  and  harmony  of  mental  powers. 
Perhaps  too  abstract  in  the  matter  of  his  sermons,  his  style 
of  expression  is  unique  and  perfect.  Dugald  Stewart  says, 
"  Whoever  wishes  to  see  the  English  language  in  its  perfec- 
tion must  read  the  writings  of  Rev.  Robert  Hall.  He 
combines  the  beauties  of  Johnson,  Addison,  and  Burke 
without  their  imperfections."  He  should  be  studied  for 
his  excellent  style. 

10.  Thomas  Chalmers.  No  student  of  divinity  should 
fail  to  read  Chalmers'  sermons,  especially  his  "Astronomical 
Discourses."  He  possessed  a  wide  scientific  knowledge,  and 
was  endowed  with  a  powerful  imagination.  "The  'body 
of  divinity,'  or  ethics,  which  in  the  hands  of  other  analysts 
became  a  skeleton  of  rattling  bones,  by  his  plastic  touch 
was  transformed  into  an  image  of  living,  breathing  beauty, 
warm  and  bright  with  a  glorious  life.    The  abstractions  of 

I  Hoppin's  Homtietics,   p.  209. 


Practical  Homiletics.  83 

colder  and  more  logical  minds  were  to  Mm  concrete, 
embodied  realities."^  He  is  especially  remarkable  for  his 
great  energy,  and  quantity  of  afl'ection,  which,  in  the  act 
of  preaching,  "  carried  all  before  him  as  a  river  that  inun- 
dates and  sweeps  its  banks."  Another  distinguishing  feat- 
ure of  his  preaching  is  his  rotary  mode  of  discussion. 
His  sermons  usually  consist  of  one  idea,  which  is  developed 
from  one  common  center,  and  unfolded  in  convolutions, 
rather  than  by  progression  in  a  straight  line;  and  hence, 
Robert  Hall  said  of  his  sermons  that  their  movement  was 
on  hinges,  not  on  wheels.  For  beauty  of  amplitude,  Chal- 
mers is,  indeed,  an  excellent  model. 

11.  F.  W.  Hobertson.  He  was  another  extemporaneous 
preacher,  who  seldom  used  larger  memorandum-notes  in 
the  pulpit  than  could  be  penciled  on  an  ordinary-sized  vis- 
iting-card. His  style  of  sermonizing  commends  itself  as  a 
specimen  of  excellent  rhetorical  skill  in  both  matter  and 
manner  of  treatment.  He  extracts  his  material  from  the 
very  heart  of  the  text,  going  down  beneath  the  letter  to  the 
vital  roots  and  life  of  the  passage.  His  plan  is  simple, 
consisting  mostly  of  only  two  main  divisions,  and  rarely 
of  more  than  three;  and  these  leading  thoughts  lie  deeply 
imbedded  in  the  inspired  Word,  and  yet  stand  out  in  bold 
relief  before  the  general  hearer.  The  truth  he  preached 
was  deeply  felt  in  his  own  soul,  and  presented  in  a  prac- 
tical way,  making  Christ  the  great  theme  of  his  charming 
•eloquence. 

12.  C.  H.  Sjpurgeon.  It  must  be  acknowledged  by  all 
that  Spurgeon's  success  as  a  preacher  is  without  a  parallel 
in  the  history  of  the  pulpit  since  the  days  of  the  apostles. 
He  is  king  of  preachers,  and  to-day  reigns  without  a  rival; 
and  every  young  preacher  should  study  both  the  man  and 
his  sermons. 

X  Moore,  quoted  in  McClintock  &  Strong's  Oydopedia,  Art.  Chalmers. 


$4  1f^^  Preacher   and  His  Sermo7i. 

The  secret  of  Spurgeon's  power  consists  in  a  commin- 
gling of  three  popular  qualities,  which  are  usually  promi- 
nent in  every  great  preacher: 

(1.)  Kis  scriptural  and  practical  variety.  Like  Robertson^ 
the  text  forms  the  germ  from  which  every  discourse  re- 
ceives its  development  and  peculiar  flavor;  and  this  is 
really  the  source  of  his  inexhaustible  variety  and  richness 
of  material,  which  for  the  past  twenty-five  years  have  found 
no  end.  But  it  is  his  intensely  practical  method,  suited 
to  every  want  of  human  life,  that  gains  that  sympathy  and 
magnetic  power  which  seems  to  unite  speaker  and  hearer 
during  the  delivery  of  his  sermons. 

(2.)  His  simplicity  of  thought  and  language.  The  sublim- 
est  truths  are  skillfully  brought  down  to  the  comprehen- 
sion of  the  most  ordinary  minds,  and  his  style  is  the  purest 
idiomatic  Anglo-Saxon — the  style  of  Bunyan,  Matthew 
Henry,  and  the  best  of  the  Puritans. 

(3.)  Sis  command  of  voice.  "  As  soon  as  he  begins  ta 
speak,  tones  of  the  richest  melody  are  heard.  A  voice 
full,  sweet,  and  musical  falls  on  every  ear,  and  awakens 
agreeable  emotions  in  every  soul  in  which  there  is  sympa- 
thy for  sounds.  That  most  excellent  voice  is  under  perfect 
control,  and  can  whisper  or  thunder  at  the  wish  of  its  pos- 
sessor. *  *  *  *  When  to  these  we  add  the  influence 
of  thrilling  description,  touching  anecdote,  sparkling  wit, 
startling  episode,  striking  simile,  all  used  to  illustrate  and 
enforce  the  deep,  earnest,  home-truths  of  the  Bible,  we 
surely  have  a  combination  of  elements  which  must  make 
up  a  preacher  of  wonderful  attraction  and  of  marvelous 
power."^ 

It  is  this  combination  of  popular  qualities  which  attracts, 
delights,  and  edifies  cabinet  ministers,  lords,  and  scholars 
as  much  as  it  does  the  common  people  of  London,  and  its 
visitors. 

X  Yarrow's  Life  and  Work  of  Chas.  H.  Spurgeon,  pp.  3'J,  40. 


Practical  Homiletics.  85 

His  published  sermons  (of  whicli  over  500,000  volumes 
have  been  published  and  sold  in  America)  are  now  trans- 
lated into  German,  French,  Swedish,  Italian,  and  some  even 
into  Arabic,  Spanish,  Danish,  and  Russ,  thus  almost  gird- 
ling the  entire  globe  with  the  gospel  notes  of  this  won- 
derful preacher  of  the  present  century. 

His  plan  of  preparation  for  the  pulpit  is  simple.  Retir- 
ing for  an  hour  suffices  to  select  and  arrange  his  thoughts 
for  the  pulpit.  Upon  a  bit  of  paper  a-  few  inches  long  he 
jots  down  two  or  three  easy,  natural  divisions,  heavily 
underscored,  each  supported  by  a  few  subdivisions,  with  a 
few  catch-words,  perhaps,  under  the  most  important 
thoughts.  This  is  all.  "  But  behind  this  is  the  reading  of 
a  life-time.  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  in  the  best  sense  'a  full 
man.' " 

13.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  is  the  great  pulpit  orator  of 
America.  But  in  saying  this  we  speak  of  his  sermons  rather, 
than  of  himself;  for  it  is  they^which  excel  as  examples  for 
young  men  who  wish  to  preach  with  eftect  a  simple,  life- 
giving  gospel  to  the  common  people.  His  discourses  are 
popularly  philosophical  without  being  coldly  metaphysical, 
abounding  in  apt  illustrations  derived  from  all  sources, 
exuberant  with  life  and  spirit,  and  in  every  way  eminently 
adapted  to  the  universal  experience  of  human  life.  Besides, 
nearly  every  discourse  is  pervaded  with  a  sweet,  loving 
sympathy  which  is  most  subduing  and  persuasive.  We 
believe  that  the  perusal  of  his  sermons  will  aid  a  young 
preacher's  eloquence  in  the  pulpit.^ 

In  this  list  of  sermonic  literature  we  have  limited  our 
notice  to  representative  preachers  of  past  and  present 
time,  omitting  many  names  of  great  if  not  of  equal  im- 
portance. The  preacher  may  derive  much  benefit  from 
the  study  of  such  eminent  preachers  as  Augustine,  Fried- 

I  For  a  brief  sketch  of  other  emiuent  preachers,  see  chapter  on  Revival  aermons. 


86  The  Preacher  and  His  Se7^7?zon. 

rich  Schleiermacher,  F.  A.  G.  Tholuck,  J.  Miiller,  Bossuet, 
Massillon,  Alex.  Yinet,  John  Howe,  Timothy  Dwight, 
Richard  Baxter,  Nathanael  Emmons,  Horace  Bushnell, 
Samuel  Davies,  Robert  Leighton,  Archibald  Alexander, 
J.  H.  Newman,  J.  M.  Mason,  Phillips  Brooks,  T.  De  Witt 
Talmage,  and  Joseph  Parker. 

But  no  one  can  expect  to  read  all  these  sermons.  Let 
the  preacher,  therefore,  select  from  them  the  best,  and  study 
them  as  he  would  any  other  text-book.  In  the  annals  of 
Bermonic  art  are  found  a  few  masterpieces  of  eloquence 
which  criticism  has  pronounced  the  ablest  sermons  that 
have  ever  been  preached.  Let  no  preacher  fail  to  read  and 
re-read  them  again  and  again.  "We  give  a  list  of  their 
titles :  . 

1.  "The  Sermon  on  the  Mount."     By  Christ. 

2.  "The  Small  Number  of  the  Saved."     By  Massillon. 
^     3.     "Passion  of  Christ."     By  Bourdaloue. 

4.  "Funeral  Oration  on  Turenne."     By  Bossuet. 

5.  "The  Nature  and  Control  of  the  Passions."     By  Saurin. 

6.  "The  Crucifixion  of  Christ."     By  Barrow. 

7.  "The  Image  of  God  in  Man."     By  South. 

8.  "  The  Foolish  Exchange"and  "The  Marriage  King."  By  Jer.  Taylor* 

9.  "The  Redeemer's  Tears."     By  John  Howe. 

10.  "Modern  Infidelity."     By  Robert  Hall. 

11.  "Sinners  in  the  Hands  of  an  Angry  God."     By  J.  Edwards. 

12.  "Expulsive  Power  of  a  New  Affection."     By  Chalmers. 

13.  "The  Compassion  of  Christ  to  Weak  Believers."     By  S.  Davies. 

14.  "The  Gospel  for  the  Poor."     By  J.  M.  Mason. 

15.  "The  Great  Assize."     By  Wesley. 

16.  "God  is  Love."     By  A.  Monod. 

17.  "And  there  shall  be  no  Night  There."     By  Melville. 

18.  "Glorying  in  the  Cross."     By  McLaurin.* 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  practical  homiletics,  we 
will  add  a  remark  upon  the  manner  of  reading  other 
men's  sermons.     Of  course,  we  should  not  read  them  in 

X  A  very  interesting  and  useful  hi.itorv  of  these  master-sermons  might  be  written. 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material.  Sy 

searcli  of  material  or  suggestive  thought,  out  of  which  to 
manufacture  our  sermons,  but  for  the  sake  of  discover- 
ing and  comparing  the  principles  upon  which  the  great 
preachers  of  all  times  and  denominations  constructed  their 
discourses.  This  will  be  a  discipline  in  the  art  of  plan- 
ning and  composing  sermons  by  studying  and  combin- 
ing the  various  excellencies  of  successful  preaching;  and 
by  placing  before  our  minds  great  ideals  and  great  models 
of  the  art,  it  will  inspire  and  elevate  our  own  endeavors 
as  well  as  afford  opportunity  to  appropriate  whatever  is 
good  in  any  or  in  all.  This  is  not  imitating  great  men, 
but  unconsciously  imbibing  their  spirit,  or  learning  how 
to  direct  and  use  our  own  original  powers.  "We  less 
resemble  models  the  more  we  wish  to  resemble  them."  * 
The  proper  way  to  read  other  men's  sermons  is  to  notice 
the  preacher,  the  text  selected,  the  plan,  development, 
style,  and  any  qualities  which  are  striking  or  peculiar  to 
their  author.  Analyze  methods,  compare  models,  observ- 
ing the  different  ways  in  which  different  ministers  treat 
the  same  subject,  as  well  as  your  own  way.  In  this  way 
will  you  preserve  your  own  individuality,  keep  fresh  your 
inventive  genius,  and  at  the  same  time  be  a  student  of  and 
receive  benefit  from  other  men's  thoughts. 

Good  instruction  may  be  derived  from  the  reading  of 
select  ministerial  biography,  and  from  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  our  own  preaching. 

§   III.    GATHERING   OF   HOMILETICAL    MATERIAL. 

A  knowledge  of  the  rules  and  practice  of  homiletics  is 
not  the  only  specific  preparation  needed  for  the  pulpit. 
There  is  a  fund  of  sermonic  material  that  must  be  accumu- 
lated, and  stored  away  as  so  much  capital  in  the  business 
of  preaching,  before  we  are  prepared  to  compose  sermons. 

I  Vinet's  Homileiics,  p.  48. 


88  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

I.     Sources  from  Which  to  Gather  Homiletieal  Material. 

1.  The  Bible.  The  preacher  must  essentially  be  a 
homo  unius  libri.  Whatever  else  he  studies  is  only  auxil- 
iary to  help  him  to  understand  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  to 
turn  them  to  homiletieal  uses.  As  a  verhi  divini  minister, 
it  would  be  a  shame  for  him  not  to  be  thoroughly  conver- 
sant with  his  subject;  and  while  there  may  be  an  apology 
for  a  minister  not  being  familiar  with  all  standard  works 
on  theology,  there  is  none  for  a  willful  neglect  of  God's 
Word.  "N^o  man  ever  did  or  ever  can  become  truly 
eloquent,  without  being  a  constant  reader  of  the  Bible, 
and  an  admirer  of  its  purity  and  sublimity."  ^  Says  Dr. 
J.  W.  Alexander:  "Constant  perusal  and  re-perusal  of  the 
Scriptures  is  the  great  preparation  for  preaching.  You  get 
good  even  when  you  know  it  not." 

There  are  three  books  that  should  be  a  preacher's  con- 
stant study:  the  book  of  nature,  the  book  of  humanity, 
and  the  book  of  divine  revelation.  In  the  first  two  we  learn 
much  theology  from  the  handwriting  of  God.  But  the  last 
is  the  Urim  and  Thummim  in  which  we  see  the  mind  of 
the  Lord  with  all  clearness;  and  this  pre-eminently  is  the 
preacher's  sanctum  sanctorum.  And  what  a  store-house 
of  material  is  imbedded  in  this  golden  mine  of  God's  vol- 
ume— full  of  divine  gems  in  spiritual  truth,  as  the  book  of 
nature  is  full  of  them  in  physical  matter!  What  age  could 
ever  exhaust  the  fertility  of  the  mineral  earth?  So  the 
Bible  is  a  world  of  many  undiscovered  treasures;  and  no 
preacher,  nor  age  of  preachers,  can  ever  bring  all  to  light, 
even  though  they  should  make  it  their  daily  and  nightly 
study. 

The  preacher  should  study  his  Bible  exegetically,  histor- 
ically, doctrinally,  and  prayerfully. 

First.  Exegetically.     The  etymology  of  the  term  exegesis 

I  Fisher  Ames. 


Gather i7ig  of  Homiletical  Material.  89 

i^i^TjyioiJLae)  implies  a  leading-out  into  clearer  light.  Its 
province  is  to  bring  forth  the  true  idea  which  lies  concealed 
in  language,  and  it  is  a  fruitful  source  of  homiletical  mate- 
rial. Indeed,  it  forms  the  basis  of  all  biblical  theology, 
whether  historical,  doctrinal,  or  practical.  Such  a  study  of 
the  Bible,  however,  requires  a  knowledge  of  the  sacred  lan- 
guages, such  as  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  and  Hellenistic  Greek, 
with  Syriac  and  Arabic  as  cognate  and  auxiliary.  The 
biblical  exegete  who  devotes  no  small  part  of  his  time  to  a 
study  of  the  original  will  have  fresh  thought  for  all  his 
sermons.  There  is  an  abundance  of  good  help  in  the 
■exposition  of  all  parts  of  the  Bible;  but  an  ability  to  ex- 
amine the  original  for  one's  self  is  more  valuable  than  any 
commentary  in  our  libraries. 

Second.  Historically.  The  Bible  is  the  oldest  and  best 
history,  and  most  abundant  in  facts.  It  is  the  interpreter 
of  all  history,  showing  the  long-waging  struggle  between 
the  spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  error,  and  its  ultimate 
result.  The  preacher  should  avail  himself  of  whatever 
help  he  can  get  to  an  understanding  of  the  scripture  narra- 
tive.^ He  should,  also,  acquaint  himself  with  the  biog- 
raphy of  its  characters,  especially  that  of  Christ,  who  is 
the  hero  of  the  Bible,  the  fundamental  in  Christianity, 
and  against  whom  anti- Christian  writers  have  directed 
their  stoutest  blows.  Let  him  be  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  life  and  character  of  Him  who  is  the  great  theme 
of  the  ministry.  The  books  on  this  subject  are  abundant, 
important  among  which  we  mention  ISTeander's  "Life  of 
Christ,"  Pressense's  "  Life  of  Christ,"  Ellicott's  "  Life  of 
Christ,"  and  Farrar's  "  Life  of  Christ."  He  should  not  be 
ignorant  of  the  writings  of  antagonists  on  the  rationalistic 
side  which  have  attracted  the  most  popular  attention, — 
namely,  Strauss'  "  Life  of  Jesus,"   and   Benan's   "  Vie  de 

X  Dr.  Smith's  histories  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  are  very  valuable  aids 


90  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Jesus,"  and  should  study  the  reply  to  these  works  by  Ear- 
less, Hoffman,  ITeander,  UUman,  Tholuck,  etc.  Christology 
is  becoming  an  important  study  in  our  time,  and  divides 
itself  into  three  parts, — Christology  of  the  Bible,  Chris- 
tology of  the  Church,  and  Christological  Heresies,  such  as 
Gnosticism,  Arianism,  Kestorianism,  Socinianism,  Unita- 
rianism,  etc.,  all  of  which  the  preacher  should  study. 

Third.  Doctrinally.  The  Bible  is  not  a  manual  of  clas- 
sified knowledge,  but  a  book  of  heterogeneous  and  iso- 
lated facts  relating  to  human  happiness.  Scripture  was 
given  in  fragments,  at  intervals  during  a  period  of  sixteen 
hundred  years;  for  God  "by  divers  portions  and  in  divers 
manners"  revealed  truth  to  different  persons,  who  "spake 
as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  Hence,  exter- 
nally it  is  a  miscellany,  but  internally  it  is  a  unity.  To 
collect  and  arrange  into  logical  and  scientific  form  the  doc- 
trines contained  sporadically  throughout  the  Scriptures  is 
the  work  of  systematic  theology. 

The  advantages  of  such  a  study  of  revelation  are, — 

1st.  Facility  in  collecting  matter  for  sermonizing  by 
having  the  Bible  topically  arranged. 

2d.  Force  of  confirmation,  by  enabling  one  to  give  a 
reason  of  the  hope  that  is  within  him. 

The  minister  should  never  cease  studying  his  Bible 
topically.  Let  him  always  have  on  file  some  topic  in  the- 
ology and  compile  all  the  passages  that  relate  to  and  prove 
the  doctrine  under  consideration.  Let  him  read  and  medi- 
tate upon  it  until  he  is  full  and  running  over.  Better 
spend  a  year  on  one  topic  and  master  it,  than  spend  a  whole 
life -time  in  a  rambling,  superficial  reading  of  scripture 
that  is  without  method  or  efliciency.  Most  successful 
preachers  are  close  systematic  Bible-stadents.  Especially 
should  the  preacher  be  veraed  in  the  doctrines  of  his  own 
church. 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material.  91 

Fourth.  Prayerfully,  The  Bible  is  a  revelation  of  God's 
thoughts  through  human  agencies  adapted  to  our  capaci- 
ties and  understanding;  but,  no  doubt,  much  lies  beyond 
the  ken  of  human  reason  which  the  unassisted  intellect 
can  not  discover.  True,  Origen  was  seeking  for  too  much 
in  his  "spiritual  interpretation,"  and  Swedenborg  carried 
out  this  view  to  the  extreme  in  his  doctrine  of  correspond- 
ence, when  he  gave  to  every  word  of  scripture  a  spiritual 
and  mystical  meaning  which  he  claimed  was  revealed  to 
him  by  the  angels;  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  there 
are  undiscovered  treasures  lying  concealed  in  other  depths 
of  this  sacred  revelation  which  exegesis  and  history  and 
systemization  can  not  penetrate.  A  man  may  be  able,  like 
Chrysostom,  to  repeat  the  entire  Bible  from  memory,  read 
it  in  a  dozen  different  languages,  and  explain  every  doc- 
trine, and  yet  be  a  stranger  to  that  which  is  "  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit"  underlying  the  mere  phraseology.  The  intel- 
lectual eye  often  can  not  pry  into  the  lower  and  deeper 
strata  of  its  meaning.  Hence  the  necessity  of  reading  our 
Bible  upon  our  knees  as  did  John  Knox. 

IS'ot  only  should  the  preacher  implore  divine  assistance 
to  illuminate  the  written  page  and  keep  him  from  error  and 
misconception  of  the  Holy  Oracle,  but  he  should  also  pray 
for  a  clearer  insight  into  the  hidden  things  of  God  which 
are  kept  from  the  wise  and  prudent  and  revealed  to  the 
prayerful  and  the  pious.  "  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with 
them  that  fear  him;"  and  prayer  is  the  key  that  unlocks 
the  vault  of  inspired  truth,  and  opens  up  a  new  vein  of 
thought  at  once  inspiring  and  original.  If  we  should 
search  books  for  truth,  why  not  also  seek  it  from  Him  who 
is  "  the  Truth." 

The  one  who  studies  and  prays  over  his  Bible  will  bring 
out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  things  both  new  and  old. 

We  will  now  speak  of  those  materials  which  are  unin- 


92  The  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

spired.  These  are  more  abundant  but  less  important  than 
the  kind  just  now  considered. 

2.  History.  All  history,  in  a  certain  sense,  is  divine. 
Lamartine  says,  "  Providence  conceals  itself  in  the  details 
of  human  afiairs,  but  becomes  unveiled  in  the  generalities 
of  history."  Cervantes  says,  "  History  is  a  sacred  kind  of 
writing,  because  truth  is  essential  to  it;  and  where  truth  is, 
there  God  is,  so  far  as  truth  is  concerned."  And  Kossuth 
says,  "  History  is  the  revelation  of  Providence." 

The  value  of  this  kind  of  study  consists  in  the  wide 
field  of  illustration  which  it  affords.  In  religious  history 
we  have  a  development  of  the  religious  spirit  of  mankind 
in  all  the  varied  forms  in  which  it  has  appeared  since  the 
world  began.  It  embraces  a  history  of  all  religions,  idola- 
trous, mythological,  and  Christian.  Church-history  com- 
mences with  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  is  an  unfolding  of  the 
religious  organization  that  proceeded  from  him.  On  early 
Christianity  the  best  books  are  Neander's  "  Planting  and 
Training  of  the  Christian  Church  by  the  Apostles,"  and 
Schaff"'s  "History  of  the  Apostolic  Church."  Dr.  Hurst's 
"Outlines  of  Church-History"  should  be  used  as  prelim- 
inary, or  in  connection  with  the  study  of  general  church- 
history. 

The  minister  should  also  be  acquainted  with  secular 
history,  both  fabulous  and  authentic.  Among  the  most 
important  are  Philip  Smith's  "History  of  the  World,"  Raw- 
linson's  "Five  Great  Monarchies  of  the  Ancient  Eastern 
World,"  Dean  Milman's  "  History  of  the  Jews,"  Josephus' 
"Antiquities  of  the  Jews,"  Schiller's  "  Thirty  Years'  War," 
Liddell's  "Pome,"  C.  C.  Felton's  "Greece,  Ancient  and  Mod- 
ern," Ilallam's  "  Middle  Ages,"  Macaulay's  or  Froude's 
"History  of  England,"  Ilildreth's  "United  States,"  D'Au- 
bigne's  "  Reformation,"  Motley's  "  Dutch  Republic."  The 
preacher's  library  should   also   contain  soni»e  of  the  best 


Gatkerifig-  of  Homiletical  Material.  93 

biographies,  such  as  Plutarch's  "Lives,"  Boswell's  "John- 
son," Lewes'  "Goethe,"  "Macaulay's  Life  and  Letters,"  and 
the  Christian  biographies  of  McCheyne,  Knox,  Cookman, 
etc.;  also,  a  classical  dictionary.  He  should  also  have  ref- 
erence to  Thomas'  "Biographical  Dictionary,"  or  Allibone's 
"  Dictionary  of  British  and  American  Authors."  McClin- 
tock  and  Strong's  "Cyclopedia,"  and  the  "Encyclopedia 
Britannica"  (American  reprint)  are  valuable  for  reference. 

3.  Science.  "What  moral  and  religious  knowledge  do  we 
find  here?  Revelation  is  a  supplement  to  the  phenomenal 
creation,  only  more  clear,  authoritative,  and  sufficient.  The 
author  of  nature  and  revelation  is  the  same.  The  physical 
cosmos,  like  the  Bible,  is  a  book  full  of  divinity.  The  one 
is  inspired,  the  other  not ;  the  one  is  infallible,  the  other 
not;  the  one  manifests  his  will,  the  other  his  work;  the  one 
is  the  Shekinah  revealed,  the  other  the  Shekinah  concealed. 
Both  furnish  arguments  in  religious  instruction  and  discus- 
sion—  the  one  a  'priori^  the  other  a 'posteriori.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  two  is  expressed  by  an  author  who  says, 
"  Science  is  nature  revealed,  while  religion  is  nature's  God 
revealed."  The  facts  of  nature  are  frequently  set  forth 
in  scripture  as  a  source  of  religious  information.  (See 
Psalms  xix.  1-4;  Isaiah  xl.  26;  Acts  xiv.  15-17;  Romans 
i.  19-21.) 

"When  we  study  science  properly,  we  do  not  step  outside 
the  field  of  theology;  for  God  is  in  science  as  he  is  in  reve- 
lation, though  not  as  Xenophenes  and  Spinoza  thought; 
nor  as  it  appeared  to  the  Greek  and  Roman  mind,  who 
deified  the  forces  and  phenomena  of  nature,  instead  of 
Him  who  originated  and  controlled  them;  nor  as  Darwin 
and  his  school  philosophized  by  excluding  God  from  their 
science.  Science  is  divine.  It  shows  the  effects  of  a  great 
First  Cause.  And  how  wide  a  field  of  religious  contem- 
plation this!     Geology  shows  me  what  Hand  established 


94  1^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

the  earth;  hotany  reveals  Him  in  the  floral  and  vegetable 
kingdom  \  physics,  in  the  laws  and  operations  of  the  mate- 
rial world;  physiology,  in  the  wonderful  mechanism  of 
the  human  body;  astronomy,  in  the  "Heavens  that  declare 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  that  showeth  his 
handiwork."  Every  pebble,  every  leaf  and  blade  of  grass, 
every  dew-drop  that  sparkles  in  the  morning  light,  every 
prismatic  color  of  the  rainbow,  afibrd  thoughts  and  themes 
for  the  preacher.  All  the  objects  and  phenomena  in  the 
material  world  around  us  and  in  the  heavens  are  manifes- 
tations of  the  thoughts  of  God,  and  are,  therefore,  so  many 
illustrations,  when  properly  interpreted,  of  the  Bible.  Kep- 
ler, the  astronomer,  in  his  investigation  of  science,  truly 
Baid,  "  0  God,  I  think  thy  thoughts  after  thee!  " 

Bishop  Butler,  in  his  "Analogy  of  Religion,"  and  Joseph 
Cook,  in  his  "  scientific  method,"  have  shown  us  how 
much  religious  thought  may  be  derived  from  this  source. 
Galileo  said,  "  To  despise  science  is  to  despise  the  Script- 
ures, which  teach  the  greatness  and  glory  of  Almighty 
God." 

4.  Philosophy.  Here  we  have  a  department  co-exten- 
sive with  that  of  science.  The  material  we  find  here  is 
precisely  the  same  as  that  of  the  empirical  sciences,  and 
differs  from  it  only  in  its  form,  method,  and  results. 
They  "  derive  their  material  directly  from  experience; 
they  find  it  at  hand  and  take  it  up  just  as  they  find  it. 
Philosophy,  on  the  other  hand,  is  never  satisfied  with  re- 
ceiving that  which  is  given  simply  as  it  is  given,  but 
rather  follows  it  out  to  its  ultimate  grounds;  it  examines 
each  individual  thing  in  its  relations  to  a  final  principle, 
and  considers  it  as  one  element  of  a  complete  system  of 
knowledge.  In  this  way  philosophy  removes  from  the 
particulars  of  experience  their  immediate,  individual,  and 
accidental  character;  from  the  sea  of  empirical  individu- 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material.  95 

alities  it  brings  out  the  universal,  and  subordinates  the 
infinite  and  orderless  mass  of  contingencies  to  necessary 
laws.  In  short,  philosophy  deals  with  the  totality  of  expe- 
rience under  the  form  of  an  organic  system  in  harmony  with 
the  laws  of  thought."  ^  Hence,  it  is  the  province  of  phi- 
losophy to  generalize  and  from  the  individual  facts  of  our 
knowledge  discover  universal  truths.  It  bears  the  same 
relation  to  general  scientific  knowledge  that  systematic 
theology  bears  to  the  written  revelation,  and  will  be  of 
similar  service  to  the  preacher,  only  that  its  matter  is  not 
60  akin  to  the  sacred  discourse,  since  its  inductions  rest 
mainly  on  physical  science,  while  those  of  theology  rest  on 
the  written  Word. 

The  fund  of  homiletical  material  to  be  derived  from  this 
department  is  extensive.  Speculative  philosophy  ranges 
from  the  day  of  Thales  to  the  present  time.  Here  is  much 
that  is  worthless  and  much  that  is  valuable.  The  preacher 
can  afi:brd  to  pass  by  the  whole  pre-Socratic  period,  but  he 
should  not  fail  to  acquaint  himself  with  intellectual  Ath- 
ens, the  great  philosophical  museum  where  Paul,  the 
Christian  philosopher,  stood  in  contact  with  heathen  phi- 
losophy and  declared  unto  them  the  living  God  whom 
they  ignorantly  worshiped.  The  philosophies  of  "  The 
Garden,"  "  The  Porch,"  "  The  Lyceum,"  and  "  The  Acad- 
emy" are  worth  careful  study,  especially  the  last  two. 
Ueberweg's  "History  of  Philosophy"  is  a  very  desirable 
work.  Mental  and  moral  philosophy  demand  the  preach- 
er's special  attention.  In  Christian  philosophy,  such  works 
as  Christlieb's  "  Modern  Doubt  and  Christian  Belief, " 
Bowne's  "  Studies  in  Theism,"  "  Philosophy  of  Natural 
Theology"  by  Dr.  Jackson,  of  England,  and  "Seneca  and 
Kant"^  by  Dr.  W.  T.  Jackson,  are  all  good. 

1  Schwegler's  History  of  Philosophy,  translated  by  Seelye,  edition  of  1880,  pp.  15,  16. 

2  A  brief  but  admirable  discussion  of  stoic  and  rationalistic  ethics,  with  a  compari* 
son  and  criticisna  of  the  two  systems. 


gS  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

6.  General  Literature.  This  is  a  great  thesaurus  of 
miscellaneous  information,  and  we  must  go  through  it  in 
the  same  way  that  a  magnet  would  sweep  through  a  pile 
of  mingled  dirt  and  iron-filings,  drawing  to  itself  nothing 
but  the  filings.  We  should  read  only  the  solids,  not  the 
gases,  in  literature. 

Mr.  Allibone  says,  "  It  has  been  estimated  that  of  the 
six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  volumes  in  the  English  lan- 
guage about  fifty  thousand  would  pay  a  perusal;"  but  it 
does  not  pay  the  minister  to  peruse  a  one  hundredth  part 
of  even  that  number. 

Helvetius,  though  an  immoral  man,  used  to  say,  "In 
our  day  the  secret  of  being  learned  is  heroically  to  deter- 
mine to  be  ignorant  of  many  things  in  which  men  take 
pride."  "Keep,"  says  Fenelon,  "the  pruning-knife  in  hand 
to  cut  away  all  that  is  needless." 

Bacon's  quaint  remark  is  of  great  practical  use  to  the 
theological  student:  "Some  books  are  to  be  tasted,  others 
to  be  swallowed,  and  some  few  to  be  chewed  and  digested." 
According  to  this  rule  we  may  venture  to  mention  a  few 
books  that  may  constitute  a  source  of  useful  information 
for  material  in  sermonizing.  Among  those  to  be  "tasted" 
in  your  leisure  hours,  but  never  in  your  hours  set  apart  for 
earnest,  solid  study,  and  to  be  taken  as  a  dessert  after 
dinner,  we  may  mention:  First.  Some  books  of  fiction, 
as  "^sop's  Fables,"  "Don  Quixote,"  "Schonberg  Cotta 
Family,"  Hawthorne's  "Scarlet  Letter"  and  "Marble  Faun," 
Longfellow's  "Hyperion."  Second.  Some  books  in  poetry, 
as  Goethe's  "Faust,"  Shakespeare's  "Hamlet,"  "Macbeth," 
"  Othello,"  "  Tempest,"  "  Henry  VIII.,"  "  Romeo  and  Ju- 
liet." Thii'd.  Some  of  devotional  reading,  as  Jeremy 
Taylor's  "Holy  Living  and  Dying,"  Thomas  a  Kempis* 
"Imitation  of  Christ,"  Bishop  Huntington's  "Christian 
Believing    and    Living,"    Bowen's    "Daily  Meditations," 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material,  97 

Howe's  "Delight  in  God,"  and  Flavel's  "Keeping  the 
Heart,"  are  worth  frequent  tasting. 

Among  those  to  be  "swallowed,"  or  read  entire  with 
considerable  attention,  we  name  as  examples,  Dryden*8 
"  Translation  of  Yirgil,"  Chapman's  or  Bryant's  "  Transla- 
tion of  Homer,"  Pope's  "Essay  on  Man,"  Young's  "Mght 
Thoughts,"  Coleridge's  "Aids  to  Reflection,"  etc. 

Among  those  "few"  to  be  "chewed  and  digested" — that 
is,  read  and  re-read,  studied  and  incorporated  into  our 
mental  constitution,  if  not  committed  to  memory,  and 
sprinkled  through  our  sermons, —  are  the  three  master- 
pieces of  three  master-minds: 

(1.)  BunyarCs  ^'■PilgrinCs  ProgressJ^  Though  in  literary 
attainments,  the  "immortal  tinker"  could  not  be  com- 
pared with  the  masters  of  English  literature,  yet  if  we 
consider  literary  success  to  consist  in  power  over  men,  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  Bunyan  should  not  be  placed  in 
the  very  front  rank.'  "  The  impersonations  of  Shake- 
speare will  undoubtedly  be  as  permanent  as  are  the  traits  of 
human  nature  which  he  has  photographed;  but  it  can  be 
said  with  equal  truth  that  the  impersonations  of  Bunyan, 
rude  and  unfinished  as  they  sometimes  seem,  will  possess 
an  interest  so  long  as  the  process  of  man's  redemption 
from  sin  is  a  thing  which  angels  or  men  desire  to  look 
into."  In  scripture-knowledge  he  was  pre-eminent,  —  was 
emphatically  a  man  of  one  book.  ISo  one  can  thoroughly 
understand  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  without  becoming  an 
accomplished  theologian,  for  the  pious  writer  became 
almost  an  inspired  prophet  in  his  religious  fiction;    and 

I  The  brilliant  Lord  Macaulay,  in  his  Essay  on  Southey's  "Bunyan,"  written  in  1831 
{Edinburgh  Review),  says,  "We  are  not  afraid  to  say  that  though  there  were  many  clerer 
men  in  England  during  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  there  were  only  two 
great  creative  minds:  one  of  these  minds  produced  the  Paradice  Lost,  the  other  the  HI- 
grim's  Progress.'"  In  his  History  of  England,  Chapter  VII.,  he  says,  "Bunyan  is,  indeed,  aa 
decidedly  the  first  of  allegorists  as  Demosthenes  is  the  first  of  orators,  or  Shakespeare 
the  first  of  dramatists." 
7 


98  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

when  "Watson,  and  Calvin,  and  Edwards  have  ceased  to  be 
recognized  as  authorities,  "  the  theology  they  taught, 
changed  from  the  abstract  to  the  concrete,  will  be  studied 
and  accepted  in  the  simple  adventures  of  Christian  and 
family,  in  the  deeds  of  Faithful  and  the  experience  of 
Hopeful,  and  in  the  wonderful  sight  of  the  Delectable 
Mountains."^ 

(2.)  Milton's  '^Paradise  Lost."  John  Milton,  the  great  epic 
poet  of  Christianity,  was  perhaps  the  most  learned  man 
that  ever  lived ;  at  least,  the  only  one  of  whom  it  was  said, 
"  He  possessed  all  the  knowledge  of  his  day."  Like  Rabe- 
lais, Milton  may  be  said  to  have  traversed  every  region  in 
the  world  of  knowledge.  No  species  of  literature,  no  lan- 
guage, no  book,  no  art  or  science  seems  to  have  escaped 
his  notice  or  the  patience  of  his  industry.  His  "  Paradise 
Lost"  may  be  considered  as  "a  vast  arsenal  of  ideas  drawn 
from  every  region  of  human  speculation,  and  either  them- 
selves the  condensed  quintessence  of  knowledge  and  wis- 
dom, or  dressing  and  adorning  the  fairest  and  most  majestic 
conceptions."^  The  first  book  is  probably  the  most  splendid 
and  perfect  of  human  composition,  while  throughout  the 
whole  this  Christian  "  Iliad "  is  aglow  with  thoughts  that 
breathe  and  words  that  burn.  A  tide  of  gorgeous  elo- 
quence rolls  on  from  beginning  to  end,  like  a  river  of 
molten  gold,  out-blazing  everything  of  the  kind  in  any 
other  poetry. 

(3.)  Dante's  ^^Divine  Comedy."  Dante  Alighieri  is  the 
literary  embodiment  of  medieval  Christianity,  and  one  of 
the  most  monarchal  figures  in  literary  history.  The  treas- 
ures of  classical  learning,  the  dialectics  of  Aristotle  and 
the  schools,  and  the  literature  of  the  church  were  his  own 
property.     From  the  dim  light  which  truth  cast  upon  his 

1  John  P.  Gulliver,  D.  D. 

a  Shaw's  Chttlincs  of  £iif/(/s/i  Lilfntilrre,  p.  168. 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material.  99 

^ge,  we  should  not  expect  him  always  to  be  free  from  error; 
and  to  judge  him  by  the  light  of  our  day  would  be  unfair. 
Suffice  it  that  he  was  very  far  in  advance  of  his  contem- 
poraries, as  well  as  of  his  predecessors.  His  delighted 
countrymen  almost  regard  him  as  one  of  the  "old  prophets 
risen  again;"  and  his  titles,  '■'■II  Divino"  '■'■II  Teologo,'^  tes- 
tify their  reverence. 

Milton  and  Dante  resemble  each  other  in  intellectual 
features,  as  well  as  in  Christian  life.  Both  were  deeply 
versed  in  the  subtleties  of  theology;  both  were  animated 
by  a  stern  and  intense  religious  enthusiasm;  but  they 
differ  from  each  other  in  their  manner  of  writing.  Dante 
is  intensely  earnest  in  his  creations,  while  the  blind  English 
bard  is  idealizing  the  phantoms  of  imagination.  Dante  is 
more  like  Tasso,  while  Milton  is  Homeric.  The  one  creates 
after  a  concrete  kind,  the  other  soars  into  abstractions. 
This  can  easily  be  seen  by  comparing  the  "Divine  Comedy" 
with  "  Paradise  Lost." 

These  three  works  should  be  the  great  fountains  of 
thought  in  general  literature,  at  which  the  preacher  should 
drink  deeply  and  frequently.  They  are  all  eminently 
Christian  in  character,  and  to  be  recommended, —  the  first 
for  its  simplicity  of  Bible-language  and  imagery,  the  sec- 
ond for  sublimity  of  thought  and  grandeur  of  diction, 
and  the  third  for  its  intense  speculative  and  theological 
character. 

To  the  classes  of  literature  already  spoken  of,  we  may 
add  others  that  are  indispensable  as  homiletical  material. 
The  literature  of  Christian  missions  should  engage  the 
preacher's  earnest  attention,  for  his  work  is  essentially 
missionary  in  character.  Let  him  read  the  history  of 
missions,  and  become  acquainted  with  the  operations  of 
the  various  missionary  associations,  both  of  his  own  and 
of  sister  churches,  so   as  to  be  able  to  present  to  his 


lOO  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

congregation  the  progress  of  tlie  churcti  in  this  enter- 
prise, as  well  as  the  pressing  want  and  demands  of  the 
world  upon  Christian  people.  Books  of  travel — especially 
those  relating  to  Bible  countries — and  sketches  of  heathen 
lands,  written  by  missionaries,  are  very  valuable.  Benefit 
will  be  derived  from  the  reading  of  such  works  as  Robin- 
son's "Researches,"  Thomson's  "The  Land  and  the  Book,'* 
Dean  Stanley's  "Sinai  and  Palestine,"  G.  Williams'  "Holy 
City,"  and  Dr.  Wilson's  "  The  Lands  of  the  Bible  Visited 
and  Described."  Of  course,  the  minister  will  take  some  of 
the  leading  reviews  and  periodicals  which  will  inform  him 
of  the  current  of  present  events  and  thoughts. 

6.  SuRROUiMDiNGS  OP  Daily  Life.  Books  are  not  the 
only  source  of  homiletical  material.  Let  the  preacher 
remember,  that  no  amount  of  antiquarian,  historical,  sci- 
entific, or  literary  lore  will  make  a  pulpit  orator,  without 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  ways  of  the  world  about 
him,  with  the  tastes,  sentiments,  passions,  and  modes  of 
thought  of  the  men  and  women  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lives,  whose  minds  it  is  his  business  to  sway.  He  who  de- 
pends entirely  and  exclusively  upon  his  library  for  material 
for  preaching  will  be  insipid  and  uninteresting,  and  will  fail 
to  edify  his  hearers,  who  are  struggling,  not  with  books,  but 
with  life, — life  that  is  real  and  earnest,  and  not  what  solitary 
book-worms  would  make  it  appear.  The  preacher  must 
not  lock  himself  in  his  study  from  Monday  morning  until 
Saturday  evening,  like  a  sedentary  monk  in  his  cell.  Let 
him  walk  out  into  the  wide,  wide  world,  full  of  objects, 
men,  toils,  conflicts,  joys,  sorrows,  incidents,  customs,  illus- 
trations. Spring,  summer,  autumn,  winter,  day,  night,  the 
ground  on  which  we  tread,  the  faces  we  meet,  the  pastoral 
calls  we  make,  the  sick-beds  we  visit,  all  are  full  of  mate- 
rial for  the  most  powerful  and  eloquent  sermons.  The  wide- 
awake and  practical  preacher  transmutes  everything  he  sees 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material,  lOl 

into  sermon  as  the  poet  converts  everything  into  poetry. 
He  makes  every  man  in  the  neighborhood,  be  he  Christian 
or  infidel,  contribute  to  his  Sunday  sermon.  He  finds 
**  sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything."  Christ,  from 
the  water  in  the  well,  preached  salvation  to  the  Samaritan 
woman.  Look  upon  the  world's  great  laboratory!  Here 
are  the  gorgeousness  of  art;  the  wonders  of  invention  and 
discovery;  the  activities  of  business  life;  merchants,  politi- 
•ciaus,  soldiers,  and  sailors  loaded  with  the  spoils  of  enter- 
prise; mothers  weeping,  homes  broken,  hopes  disappointed, 
fond  wishes  deceived,  innocence  mocked,  honors  dashed. 
Here  are  heard  the  buzzing  voices  of  rival  schemes,  literary 
warfare,  men  fighting  with  tongues  strong  as  Indian's 
vengeance.  Life  is  a  kaleidoscope  of  innumerable  phe- 
nomena, and  the  preacher  must  not  fail  to  study  it.  Henry 
"Ward  Beecher  owes  much  of  his  pulpit  power  to  his  famil- 
iarity with  human  experiences.  He  is  a  student  in  what  he 
calls  "Life- School,"  studies  to  understand  men  and  deal 
with  them  face  to  face,  keeps  out  among  people,  and  is  a 
man  among  men.  The  people — men,  women,  and  children 
of  all  sorts — are  his  familiar  acquaintances.^ 

Dr.  Chalmers  used  to  say  that  he  preached  back  to  his 
people  on  Sunday  what  they  preached  to  him  in  the  week- 
days; and  Mr.  Moody's  sermons  are  made  up  of  the  word 
of  God  and  facts  and  incidents  obtained  from  conversation 
with  inquirers.  The  preacher  should  understand  human 
nature  in  all  its  protean  phases.  He  must  be  a  close  ob- 
server, and  go  through  the  world  with  his  eyes  open — we 
might  add,  with  pencil  and  paper  to  note  down  whatevei 
is  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  sacred  discourse.     His  study 

I  "  I  take  great  pleasure,  if  ever  I  can  get  the  chance,  in  riding  on  the  top  of  an  om- 
nibus with  the  driver,  and  talking  with  him.  What  do  I  gain?  Why,  my  sympathy  goes 
out  for  these  men,  and  I  can  recognize  in  them  an  element  of  brotherhood.  *  *  ••'  *  If  I 
ever  saw  one  of  these  men  in  my  church  I  could  preach  to  hfm  and  hit  him  under  th« 
fifth  rib  with  an  illustration  much  better  than  if  I  had  not  been  acquainted  with  him.  I 
bave  driven  the  truth  under  many  a  plain  jacket." — Beecher's  Yal&  Lectures. 


102  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

should  be  everywhere, —  in  the  house,  in  the  street,  itt 
the  fields,  in  the  busy  haunts  of  men,  and  among  chil- 
dren. 

7.  The  Mind.  After  pointing  out,  in  the  reahii  of  hooka 
and  in  the  world  of  daily  life,  the  various  fields  from  which 
to  gather  material  for  sermonizing,  and  which  together 
furnish  a  vast  fund  of  matter  not  belonging  to  ourselves, 
but  from  which  we  may  borrow,  we  must,  lastly,  name 
the  great  mint  where  all  thought  is  coined  —  the  deepy 
exhaustless  mind.  Here  is  man's  most  valuable  capital, 
which  he  inherited  from  his  Creator,  and  of  which  he  ia 
made  the  owner.  What  comes  from  this  source  is  strictly 
his  own,  or  original,  and  should  be  sought  for  as  men  seek 
for  diamonds.  God  has  made  the  human  mind  a  deposi- 
tory of  intellectual  wealth,  though  we  may  be  as  "  uncon- 
scious of  its  worth  as  the  mine  is  of  its  ore,"  arid  he  wha 
turns  to  his  mental  resources  in  quest  of  thought  will  find 
out  that  the  more  he  gives  from  his  own  creations  the- 
more  he  will  have  to  give;  for  thought  is  self-propaga- 
ting— one  idea  begetting  another  and  another,  ad  infinitum. 
This  searching  for  treasures  in  the  deep  of  our  own  minds- 
will  repay  all  the  labor  it  costs.  How  one  exults  at  the 
discovery  of  a  new  thought;  and  with  what  eloquence  he- 
will  deliver  it! 

The  intuitive  faculty  furnishes  us  with  primitive  truths. 
Advancing  from  these,  by  induction  or  deduction,  we  arrive 
at  new  conclusions.  But  of  all  the  mental  faculties,  the  im- 
agination is  the  most  fertile  in  material.  It  is  an  originat- 
ing and  constructive  faculty,  and  is  most  prominent  in  the 
work  of  invention.  "Imagination  docs  not  create  thought;, 
but  it  organizes  thought  into  forms  as  new  as  the  eques- 
trian statue  of  bronze  is  unlike  the  metallic  ores  when 
they  lay  in  the  mine.  *  *  *  *  'Historical  imagination,' 
in  reproducing  the  past,  is  one  of  the  favorite  ideas  of  our 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material.  103 

day.  *  *  *  *  And  not  only  as  to  the  past.  Imagination 
is  requisite  if  we  are  justly  to  conceive  and  vividly  to  real- 
ize the  scripture  revelations  concerning  the  unseen  world 
and  the  eternal  future."  ^  The  use  of  the  imagination  in 
the  poetical  and  ethical  sphere  is  a  power  in  the  pulpit 
which  no  preacher  should  neglect  to  cultivate. 

II.     How  to  Gather  Material  from  these  Sources. 

"We  have  taken  a  general  survey  of  the  field  of  knowl- 
edge 80  far  as  it  relates  to  the  preacher's  sermons;  but  how 
Bhall  he  obtain  and  appropriate  this  material  that  liea 
unquarried  in  its  golden  bed? 

1.  By  a  System  of  Reading  and  Study.  The  preacher 
must  be  a  hard,  life-long  student.  No  collegiate  or  theo- 
logical preparation,  however  protracted  and  thorough,  must 
excuse  him  from  observing  regular  and  systematic  hours 
of  study  as  long  as  he  lives.  In  the  midst  of  his  parochial 
and  domestic  duties  he  can  find  much  time  for  gathering 
information  by  adopting  a  system  of  study  and  by  utilizing 
the  spare  moments,  which,  if  carefully  garnered  and  im- 
proved each  day  as  they  pass,  will  bring  him  a  store  of 
valuable  knowledge  which  otherwise  would  be  lost.^ 

"Who  uses  minutes,  has  hours  to  use; 
Who  loses  minutes,  whole  years  must  lose." 

The  Savior's  command  to  his  disciples,  "  Gather  up  the 
fragments  that  remain,  that  nothing  be  lost,"  is  a  good  rule 
when  applied  to  the  economizing  of  time  in  ministerial 
labor.  "I  have  lost  ten  minutes  forever,"  was  uttered  in 
deep  regret  by  John  Wesley,  after  waiting  at  the  door  for 
his  chaise  which  had  been  delayed;   and  when  we  remem- 

1  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  pp.  398,  399,  400. 

2  Elihu  Burritt,  while  earning  his  living  as  a  blacksmith,  learned  eighteen  languages 
*nd  twenty-two  dialects,  by  simply  improving  his  odd  moments.  Kirk  White,  also 
icarned  Greek  while  walking  to  and  from  a  lawyer's  office;  and  Jonathan  Edwards 
meditated  his  profound  work  on  the  WUl  as  he  walked  in  the  shades  of  a  glorious  elm, 
«t  Northampton. 


I04  TJie  PreacJier  and  His  Sermo7i. 

ber  the  many  volumes  which  he  published,  the  five  thou- 
sand miles  which  he  yearly  traveled,  the  thousand  discourses 
which  he  annually  delivered,  the  thousand  sick-beds  he 
yearly  visited,  and  perhaps  thrice  that  number  of  letters 
he  yearly  wrote,  we  see  the  worth  of  his  motto:  "IS^ever 
be  unemployed." 

Besides,  every  minister  should  set  apart  the  entire  fore- 
noon of  each  week-day  for  hard,  faithful  study,  devoting 
not  the  whole  time  to  sermonizing,  but  at  least  one  half  to 
study  or  reading  in  his  library.  He  should  commence  at 
an  early  hour  and  continue  until  the  bell  calls  the  dinner 
hour.  TVe  sleep  too  much  and  too  late,  and  therefore  miss 
the  golden  morning  hour  that  enriches  the  early  worker. 
Gibbon  was  in  his  study  every  morning,  summer  and  win- 
ter, at  six  o'clock.  Bowditch  said :  "Before  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning  I  learned  all  my  mathematics."  The  success- 
ful Burnet  and  Jewell  commenced  their  studies  every 
mornins:  at  four  o'clock.  Dr.  Doddridge  said:  "Whatever 
I  have  accomplished  in  the  way  of  commentary  on  the 
Scriptures  is  to  be  traced  to  the  fact  of  rising  at  four  in  the 
morning."  More  has  been  accomplished  in  literary  acqui- 
sition between  the  hours  of  four  and  ten  in  the  morning 
than  the  world  dreams  of ;  and  ministers  of  the  gospel 
would  greatly  profit  and  improve  their  efficiency  in  the 
pulpit  by  imitating  the  example  of  these  literary  toilers  in 
their  respective  fields  of  usefulness. 

These  hours  of  systematic  study  should  be  sacred,  and 
preserved  from  interruptions  or  intrusions.^ 

I  "  I  waited  upon  the  Rev.  Matthew  Wilks,  of  London,"  said  an  American  minister, 
"and  was  received  with  courtesy.  We  entered  into  conversation,  which  was  briskly  kept 
up  until  the  most  important  religions  intelligence  in  possession  of  each  had  been  im- 
parted. Suddenly,  there  was  a  pause.  It  was  broken  by  Mr.  Wilks,  who  inquired,  'Have 
you  anything  more  to  communicate?'  '  No;  nothing  of  special  interest.'  'Any  further 
inquiries  to  make?'  'None.'  '  Then  you  must  leave  me.  I  have  my  Master's  business 
to  attend  to.'  "  Richard  Baxter  was  once  called  upon  by  a  young  man  who  had  no  par- 
ticular reason  for  making  the  visit.  Baxter,  aft-er  a  few  moments,  became  uneasy.  "Per- 
haps I  trouble  you,"  remarked  the  young  man.  "Of  course  you  do,"  decidedly  yet 
kindly  replied  Baxter. 


Gaihermg-  of  Homiletical  Material.  105 

"  Let  there  be,  in  the  study,  no  idleness,  no  reverie,  and 
no  reading  outside  of  the  prescribed  circle.  Let  the  mind 
begin  to  work  as  soon  as  the  door  is  shut,  and  let  it  not 
cease  until  the  clock  strikes  the  appointed  hour;  then  stop 
study,  and  stop  composition,  and  devote  the  remainder  of 
the  day  to  parochial  labors,  the  amenities  of  life,  and  the 
relaxation  of  lighter  literature."^ 

Ko  one  need  fear  that  such  a  rigorous  course  of  study 
will  result  in  over-exertion,  mental  and  physical  debility, 
and  ultimately,  in  premature  death.  Far  from  it.  Let 
the  preacher  who  desires  good  health,  mental  strength, 
and  a  long  life  of  usefulness,  observe  Franklin's  rule  of 
life,  which  was,  out  of  every  twenty-four  hours  (except 
Sunday)  to  devote  one  third  to  sleep,  one  third  to  mental, 
spiritual,  and  physical  recreation,  and  one  third  to  hard 
study.  Instead  of  intense  mental  labor  conducing  to  early 
exhaustion  or  death,  it  has  been  proved,  by  carefully  pre- 
pared statistics  and  medical  research,  that  the  world's 
hardest  mental  workers  and  noblest  benefactors  have  usu- 
ally been  the  very  long-lived.^  By  such  a  system  of  study 
every  preacher,  without  the  danger  of  sacrificing  his  health, 
will  gather  a  large  stock  of  theological  information  for 
homiletical  uses. 

2.  By  a  System  of  Preserving  the  Results  of  Reading  and 
Study.  By  a  faithful  and  persevering  industry  a  preacher 
may  traverse  a  vast  field  of  general  knowledge  even  pre- 
paratory to  his  entering  upon  his  professional  duties;  but  it 
is  said  that  the  generality  of  men  forget  during  a  life-time 

1  Shedd's  Homileiics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  369. 

2  One  of  our  eminent  physicians  asserts  that  "longevity  increases  very  greatly  with 
the  advance  of  civilization;"  and  this,  in  a  measure,  accounts  for  the  faxjt  that  the  great- 
est and  hardest  brain-workers  of  history  have  lived  longer,  on  an  average,  than  bram- 
workers  of  ordinary  ability  and  industry.  And  it  is  a  well  attested  fact  that  clergymen 
are,  as  a  rule,  longer-lived  than  any  other  class  of  brain -workers.  The  early  death  of 
hard  mental  workers,  such  as  Byron,  Raphael,  Pascal,  Mozart,  and  Keats,  is  the  excep- 
tion, while  the  rule  has  been  often  demonstrated  that  the  average  longevity  of  eminent 
Bcholars  is  seventy  years. 


lo6  The  Pi'eacher  and  His  Sermon. 

ninety  per  cent  of  all  they  ever  learned.  Memory  is  imper- 
fect, and,  like  a  leaking  vessel,  will  lose  much  that  is  valua- 
ble. Hence,  every  minister  should  adopt  some  method  by 
which  he  may  hold  and  preserve  in  some  convenient  form 
the  results  of  his  past  study,  reading  and  reflection.  Many 
different  plans  have  been  used  for  this  purpose,  for  the 
same  plan  will  not  always  adapt  itself  to  all;  but  the  fol- 
lowing may  be  suggestive : 

Prepare  a  blank  book  for  jottings,  in  which  to  record 
whatever  has  been  suggested,  or  heard,  or  read  where  it 
could  not  again  be  accessible.  These  notes  should  be 
entered  miscellaneously  in  the  order  in  which  they  come 
to  our  knowledge,  without  regard  to  either  subjects  or 
classification,  but  only  numbered  for  reference;  and  the 
jotting-books  labeled  A,  B,  C,  etc. 

Begin,  also,  a  series  of  scrap-books.  A,  B,  C,  etc.,  in 
which  to  place  clippings,  in  the  same  manner  as  items  are 
entered  in  the  jotting-books. 

In  addition,  arrange,  as  you  read,  an  index  to  your 
library,  as  a  memorandum  of  whatever  you  consider  valua- 
ble for  future  use  and  to  which  you  might  not  be  able  to 
refer,  in  a  moment,  when  needed.  Enter  subject  and  ref- 
erence in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  others,  except  the 
numbering,  which  is  to  be  omitted. 

Lastly,  procure  a  blank-paged  Bible,  and  opposite  each 
passage  make  references  to  whatever  may  throw  light  on 
the  passage.' 

But  to  complete  this  system  of  literary  mnemonics  there 

s  required  a  general  index  rerum,  to  be  used  as  a  ledger,  to 

which   to   carry,   or   post,  under    alphabetically  -  arranged 

heads,  everything  which  is  contained  in  the  jottings,  scraps, 

library,  or  even  Bible.    Thus,  in  the  mdex  reruin,  for  exam- 

I  Bagster's  blank-leaved  Bible,  which  contains  a  long  list  of  subjects,  alphabetically 
arranged,  in  the  back  part,  with  blank  leaves  opposite  for  references,  is  the  best. 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material.  107 

pie,  under  heading,  Atonement^  J.,  A,  125;  S.,  B,  12;  L.> 
1176;  Matt.  vi.  24,  would  refer  to  jotting-book  labeled  A, 
number  of  jotting,  125;  scrap-book  labeled  B,  number  of 
scrap,  12;  library  index,  page  1176;  blank-paged  Bible, 
under  Matthew  vi.  24. 

In  this  way  a  vast  amount  of  useful  information  may  be 
systematically  arranged  and  condensed  into  small  space  in 
the  index  rerum^  which  will  place  at  your  command  all 
your  acquired  knowledge,  and  permit  a  reference  to  every- 
thing which  you  have  ever  read,  heard,  or  thought  upon 
a  given  subject.     Pope  wisely  said, — 

"  Though  index-learning  turn  no  student  pale, 
It  holds  the  eel  of  science  by  the  tail." 

And  that  hold  will  enable  one  to  secure  the  entire  fish. 

By  the  use  of  a  system  somewhat  like  the  above  we 
form,  at  once,  a  growing  cyclopedia,  which  will  increase  in 
value  with  time  and  study,  and  which,  in  course  of  time 
will  be  the  most  useful  volume  in  the  library.  It  will  save 
much  time,  which,  without  it,  would  be  spent  in  hunting 
up  partially-remembered  items  of  reading,  and  will  pre- 
serve such  items  as  otherwise  would  be  irrecoverably  lost. 
Prof.  Olmsted,  of  Yale  College,  used  to  tell  his  students 
how  quickly  he  prepared  a  certain  lecture,  but  that  he  had 
been  gathering  material  for  twenty  years.  Small  savings 
lead  to  wealth  in  study  as  in  business.  Especially  should 
such  a  professional  man  as  the  preacher,  who  is  forever 
drawing  from  his  treasure-house,  be  always  engaged  in 
gathering,  storing,  and  saving  everything  which  comes 
under  his  notice  that  can  be  turned  to  homiletical  use. 

III.     How  to  Appropriate  and  Use  in  the  Sermon  the  Gath- 
ered Material. 

Having  selected  a  certain  theme,  then  commences  the 
work  of  invention,  selection,  separation,  and  extraction, — 
probing  the  intellectual  resources   for  suitable  material;. 


io8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermoji. 

firBt,  the  biblical,  then  historical,  scientific,  and  general, 
whatever  he  can  recall  of  his  former  study,  reading,  obser- 
vation, and  reflection,  should  be  carefully  compiled  for  the 
sermon  after  taxing  his  powers  to  the  utmost  in  the  work 
of  original  invention.  But  the  sermonizer  must  by  no 
means  use  everything  that  comes  within  his  reach  on  a 
given  subject.  Let  him  learn  the  art  of  rejecting.  Not 
everything  that  could  be  said  ought  to  be  said  on  a  given 
theme;  nor  should  he  use  a  fact  because  it  is  pretty,  inter- 
esting, or  novel.  ITothing  but  the  most  salient  points  and 
pertinent  facts,  the  cream  and  quintessence  of  his  infor- 
mation, should  be  incorporated  in  the  sermon.  "Bring 
nothing  but  the  beaten  oil  into  the  sanctuary,"  says  Dr. 
Humphrey.  The  preacher  may  learn  an  instructive  lesson 
from  the  bee  which  passes  by  the  common  herbage,  goes 
only  to  the  flowers,  and  from  them  extracts  only  the  honey. 
But  the  material  selected,  from  whatever  source,  must  be 
fashioned  into  its  homiletic  use,  just  as  a  stone  quarried 
from  the  mountains  is  not  placed  in  a  building  in  its  rude, 
native  state,  but  cut  to  suit  its  place  and  purpose.  Histor- 
ical facts  are  often  needed,  but  must  not  be  inserted  in  the 
sermon  in  the  same  form  in  which  they  are  found  in  the 
original  record,  else  the  discourse  might  be  a  history  of  an 
event,  person,  or  place  instead  of  a  sermon.  The  homilet- 
ical  use  of  science  is  to  illustrate  scripture.  It  is  one  thing 
to  employ  it  as  Chalmers  did  in  his  "  Astronomical  Dis- 
courses;" it  is  another,  to  make  the  pulpit  a  scientific 
platform.  K  the  preacher  occasionally  refers  to  philo- 
sophical theories  by  way  of  illustration,  he  does  not  under- 
take to  teach  philosophy  in  his  sermon.  He  may,  like 
Christ,  transmute  the  facts  of  the  world  into  religious 
instruction.  "  He  may  range  over  all  fields,  like  the  bee,  if 
he  only  makes  his  gleanings  subservient  to  the  one  great 
object  of  edifying  souls,  and  brings  sweetness  and  attract- 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Afaterial.  109 

iveness  to  the  Bible  as  the  bee  converts  into  honey,  and 
brino-s  all  to  the  hive." 

But  the  last  query  is :  How  shall  material  thus  accumu- 
lated and  metamorphosed,  be  appropriated  to  the  sermon? 
Of  course,  everything  derived  from  any  of  the  sources  indi- 
cated must  pass  through  the  alembic  of  our  own  minds,  be 
fused  in  the  furnace  of  our  own  thinking,  until  it  is  molded 
into  a  new  mass  by  a  sort  of  re-creation,  as  a  new  coin  is 
made  out  of  fragments  of  old  specie. 

To  explain  more  fully,  we  may  here  consider  the  question 
of  originality  and  'plagiarism.  Strictly  speaking,  man  can 
not  originate.  Everything  that  exists,  whether  in  the  world 
of  matter  or  of  mind,  has  been  created  by  God;  and  man 
can  not  add  thereto  nor  take  therefrom  a  single  iota.  He 
only  derives,  or  borrows,  from  a  vast  store-house  not  his 
own.  He  may  discover  or  invent,  but  not  originate.  When 
Kepler  exclaimed,  "  0  God,  I  think  thy  thoughts  after 
thee,"  and  Agassiz  caught  and  repeated  the  same  senti- 
ment in  asserting  that  his  researches  were  but  an  interpre- 
tation of  the  thoughts  of  the  Creator,  they  acknowledged 
that  they  discovered  laws  and  phenomena  which  had  ex- 
isted long  before  they  were  made  known  to  man.  When 
Galileo  invented  the  pendulum-clock,  and  Torricelli  the 
barometer,  they  merely  discovered  and  combined  forces  and 
elements  which  existed  from  the  beginning  of  time.  "Only 
God  can  create  de  nihilo,  and  only  God  can  make  a  commu- 
nication of  truth  that  is  absolutely  new."^ 

Broadus  speaks  of  absolute  originality  in  preaching;  but 
such  a  thing  is  evidently  impossible  for  man  so  long  as 
we  allow  the  word  absolute  its  true  and  accepted  meaning. 
In  rare  cases,  men  may  discover  new  thoughts  which  had 
never  before  been  revealed  to  any  human  mind;  but  even 
this  we  prefer  to  call  second-hand  originality,  since  they 

1  Shedd's  EomUetics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  8. 


no  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

previously  must  have  existed  as  eternal  archetypes  in  the 
divine  Mind,  and  are  therefore  derived  from  a  source  not 
ourselves.  In  our  time  such  originality  is  almost  a  hopeless 
thing;  for,  as  John  Stuart  Mill  has  said,  "nearly  all  the 
thoughts  which  can  be  reached  by  mere  strength  of  original 
faculties,  have  long  since  been  arrived  at,"  and  what  we 
consider  original  in  this  high  sense  at  the  time  of  dis- 
covery may  have  been  discovered  long  before  by  some  one 
unknown  to  or  unheard  of  by  us.  "  The  ancients  have 
stolen  all  our  best  ideas,"  quotes  Broadus.  "Were  all  our 
sermons  to  consist  of  nothing  but  such  a  kind  of  origin- 
ality, they  would  indeed  be  like  "angels'  visits — few  and  far 
between." 

But  the  originality  which  enters  most  largely  into  our 
sermons  is  third-handed,  and  consists  of  our  own,  or  other 
men's  ideas,  appropriated  to  ourselves  by  a  process  of 
mental  digestion  and  assimilation,  and  expressed  in  words 
and  methods  of  our  own.  This  does  not  forbid,  bu-t  encour- 
ages, the  reading  of  other  men's  thoughts. 

The  labors  of  our  ancestors  have  left  a  legacy  of  valuable 
material  that  is  calculated  to  benefit  the  world  to-day. 
"We  are  the  heirs  of  all  ages,  and  are  permitted  to  gather 
around  the  festal-board  of  accumulated  knowledge  that  is 
spread  out  sumptuously  before  the  modern  thinker.  Not 
only  have  we  a  right,  but  our  highest  efiiciency  and  useful- 
ness demand  that  we  avail  ourselves  of  the  truths  that 
have  been  revealed  to  the  world,  whether  from  God  or 
man,  and  which  were  not  intended  to  be  only  ornaments 
of  admiration,  but  creatures  of  activity  and  utility  for  all 
ages.  If  the  ideas  acquired  through  reading  and  study 
have  been  assimilated  as  by  a  chemical  combination  into 
our  own  mental  constitution,  thus  forming  part  of  our  own 
intellectual  self,  they  are  ours  as  truly  as  the  bread  we  eat, 
becoming  identified  with  our  flesh  and  blood  and  bone, 
thus  constituting  a  part  of  our  bodily  self,  is  ours. 


Gathering  of  Homilefical  Material.  1 1 1 

This  is  all  that  modern  human  originality  can  claim  or 
aspire  to;  and  the  best  productions  are  of  this  kind.  Ma- 
lone  tells  us  that  many  of  the  ideas  in  Shakespeare  can  be 
found  in  previous  authors,  and  Emerson  says  that  investi- 
gation hardly  leaves  a  single  drama  of  his  (Shakespeare's) 
absolute  invention.  The  plot  of  "Paradise  Lost"  was  in 
great  part  derived  from  various  sources.  Byron  was 
largely  indebted  to  Goethe  for  his  "Manfred."  Spenser 
borrowed  from  the  models  of  Geoffrey.  Emerson'  also  re- 
marks: "Plato,  like  every  other  great  man,  consumes  his 
■own  times.  *  *  *  When  we  are  praising  Plato,  it  seems 
that  we  are  praising  quotations  from  Solon,  and  Sophron, 
and  Philolaus."  Spurgeon  freely  confesses  that  he  is  in- 
debted for  many  of  his  sermons  to  others.  Indeed,  many 
■of  the  thoughts  in  the  parables  and  sayings  of  our  Savior 
have  been  traced  to  various  currents  of  previous  thinking 
-and  sayings  which  had  come  down  to  his  day.  These 
thinkers  had  constructed  their  new  productions,  in  part, 
•out  of  thoughts  gathered  from  various  writers,  who,  in 
turn,  had  gathered  them  from  their  predecessors.  Thus, 
nearly  all  our  present  thoughtful  works  could  be  traced  to 
other  sources.  But  they  are  original,  because  the  thoughts 
were  freshly  conceived,  differently  combined,  and  newly 
expressed,  thus  stamping  them  with  their  authors'  individ- 
uality, when  perhaps  no  one  else  would  have  thought  of 
•constructing  and  expressing  the  same  thoughts  in  that  way. 
This  originality  is,  nevertheless,  a  kind  of  quotation  in  the 
fiense  in  which  Emerson,  no  doubt,  used  the  word  when  he 
said,  "Every  book  is  a  quotation;  and  every  house  is  a 
quotation  out  of  all  forests  and  mines  and  stone-quarries; 
and  every  man  is  a  quotation  from  all  his  ancestors." 

Plagiarism  consists  in  using  the  "thoughts,  words,  and 
method  of  another,  without,  in  some  way,  giving  due  credit 
for  them.     The  violation  consists  not  in  using  another's 


112  The  Preacher  and  His  Sennon, 

thoughts,  *  *  *  but  in  not  candidly  acknowledging  their 
Bource."^  This  is  literary  theft,  and  to  be  guilty  of  it  is 
highly  dishonorable  and  dishonest.  Conviction  and  expos- 
ure of  such  an  ignoble  deed  would  greatly  injure  a  minis- 
ter's usefulness.     Plagiarism  may  be  committed, — 

1st.  By  appropriating  verbatim  entire  sermons.  In  rare 
cases,  another  man's  sermon  of  unusual  merit  and  adap- 
tation to  your  hearers  might  be  read  to  them  from  print 
at  a  prayer-meeting;  but  to  copy  them  from  books,  to 
exchange  with  other  preachers,  or  to  buy  prepared  manu- 
scripts for  the  pulpit  and  offer  them  as  your  own,  is  notori- 
ous plagiarism. 

2d.  By  using  the  plans  of  sermons.  Too  much  can  not 
be  said  in  condemnation  of  the  many  books  filled  with 
"  sketches  "  and  "  outlines  "  for  the  use  of  preachers.  They 
are  a  public  nuisance,  and  should  be  banished  from  every 
preacher's  library. 

3d.  By  incorporating  quotations  and  extracts  from  au- 
thors without  proper  acknowledgment.  The  "Word  of 
God,  being  the  basis  of  instruction  which  we  are  com- 
manded to  preach,  and  nearly  every  passage  of  which  must 
be  already  familiar  to  the  hearer  without  indicating  its 
source,  is  an  exception ;  but  all  literal  interpolations  used 
from  other  sources,  except  what  has  become  common  prop- 
erty, must  be  accredited  to  their  lawful  authors. 

4th.  By  imitating  other  preachers,  either  in  thought, 
style,  or  manner.  "How  ridiculous  it  would  look,  if  a 
goose  should  attempt  to  soar  like  the  eagle  or  sing  like  the 
nightingale.  So  each  man,  and  especially  each  preacher, 
should  be  himself.  *  *  *  *  The  parrot-man  can  not  be 
true  to  his  own  convictions." 

In  seeking  originality  and  avoiding  plagiarism  two  errors 
are  to  be  avoided.  The  one  is,  such  independence  of  thought 

I  Hoppin's  Homiletics,  p.  680. 


Gathering  of  Homiletical  Material,  113 

as  to  refuse  reading  anything  upon  the  theme  of  discussion 
lest  it  might  impair  originality.  "  "We  have  seen  the  works 
of  a  painter,  who  would  see  no  Rafiaelles  or  Van  Dycks, 
lest  he  should  spoil  his  native  manner.  He  has  certainly 
succeeded  in  avoiding  all  that  one  beholds  in  these  great 
masters."*  The  other  error  is  excessive  reading,  and  cram- 
ming the  discourse  with  an  indigested  mixture  of  other 
men's  ideas,  making  the  sermon  nothing  but  a  compila- 
tion of  miscellaneous  quotations. 

In  composing  a  sermon  the  preacher  "  will  do  what  the 
bee  does,  which  rifles  the  flowers — exactly  what  the  bee 
does;  for,  by  an  admirable  instinct  which  never  misleads 
it,  it  extracts  from  the  cup  of  flowers  only  what  serves  to 
form  the  wax  and  the  honey,  the  aromatic  and  the  oleagi- 
nous particles.  But,  be  it  well  observed,  the  bee  first  nour- 
ishes itself  with  these  extracts,  digests  them,  transmutes 
them,  and  turns  them  into  wax  and  honey  solely  by  an 
operation  of  absorption  and  assimilation."  ^ 

X  J.  W.  Alexander,  quoted  by  Broadus. 
3  Bautain's  Art  of  Extempore  Speaking. 
8 


Part  II. 


'  Part  II. 

THEORETICAL. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  SERMON. 

Definition  and  Description — Brief  History  of  the  Sermon — Relation  of 
the  Sermon  to  Homiletics — The  Sermon  should  be  no  Ordinary  EflFort 
— The  Sermon  of  To-Day  Ought  to  Excel  that  of  any  Former  Period 
— General  Properties  of  the  Sermon — Length  of  the  Sermon — Repeat- 
ing Sermons — Series  of  Sermons — One  or  Two  Sermons  a  Sabbath. 

§    I.      DEFINITION   AND    DESCRIPTION. 

Sermon,  from  the  Latin  word  sermo,  literally  signifies  a 
conversation,  or  discourse,  which  "  originally  implied  ques- 
tion and  answer."'  Technically,  however,  it  is  the  name 
of  a  religious  discourse,  more  systematically  arranged  than 
the  ancient  homily,  and  adapted  to  the  popular  hearer. 
The  term  itself,  although  never  used  in  scripture,  is,  nev- 
ertheless, scriptural,  for  its  equivalent  occurs  frequently 
under  names  which  define  its  nature;  such  as,  to  talk  fa- 
miliarly, 6/jidew,  Acts  XX.  11,  from  which  originates  the 
English  word  homily;  to  declare  glad  tidings,  euayYsXc^ofxai, 
Luke  ii.  10,  from  which  comes  our  word  evangelize;  to 
teach  or  declare,  KarayyiUo),  Colossians  i.  28;  to  preach,  to  pro- 
claim as  a  herald,  xv^puaaco,  from  xijpu^,  a  herald,  Matthew 
X.  7 ;  to  discuss,  to  reason,  duuiyo/jiai.  Acts  xvii.  4.  To  dis- 
tinguish this  kind  of  discourse  from  all  others  of  the 
bar,  senate,  or    platform,  it  is  called  a  sermon;  and   it  is 

z  Hoppin's  Homiletics,  p.  U. 

117 


ii8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

a  noteworthy  fact,  that  in  the  early  church  the  term  loyoZy 
oration,  was  applied  to  all  kinds  of  oratory  which  were 
not  religious  in  character,  in  much  the  same  sense  in 
which  the  term  lecture  or  speech  is  now  used  in  our 
country. 

The  sermon,  then,  is  characteristic  of  Christianity,  and  a 
specialty  of  the  Christian  ministry,^ — for  without  it  the 
church  would  lose  its  aggressive  power  and  relinquish  its 
keenest  sword  of  evangelization.  Vinet  defines  a  sermon 
thus:  "  It  is  a  discourse  incorporated  with  public  worship, 
and  designed,  concurrently  or  alternately,  to  conduct  to 
Christian  truth  one  who  has  not  yet  believed  in  it,  and  to 
explain  and  apply  it  to  those  who  admit  it."^  Phelps,  in 
his  recent  work  on  "  The  Theory  of  Preaching,"  says,  "A 
sermon  is  an  oral  address  to  the  popular  mind,  upon  relig- 
ious truth  contained  in  the  Scriptures,  and  elaborately 
treated  with  a  view  to  persuasion."  ^ 

From  these  definitions  we  perceive  that  a  sermon  differs 
from  an  essay  or  a  book  by  the  presence  and  expression  of  a 
living  speaker.  Thought  in  written  form  may  be  invigor- 
ating, but  it  is  laid  out  in  material  substance,  and  in  stiff, 
formal,  hypostatic  types  of  ideas,  which  are  nothing  in 
themselves  but  the  representatives  of  ideas.  It  is  like  a 
Webster  transferred  to  canvas  or  carved  into  marble  —  a 
true  transcript  of  the  man,  indeed,  yet  how  tlifferent  from 
the  man  that  stood  pleading  in  the  Senate!  Thought 
expressing  itself  through  a  living  organism,  beaming  from 
the  eye,  ringing  in  the  voice,  and  gushing  forth  from  a 
spirit  stimulated  by  contact  with  spirit,  is  not  only  invig- 
orating, but  inspiring.     It  animates  the  written  page, — a 

1  "No  false  religion  has  ever* provided  for  the  regular  and  frequent  a8se«r»V'n,^  of 
the  masses  of  men  to  hear  religious  instruction  and  exhortation." — Broadus*  >  ^•'•xi- 
turn  and  Delivery  of  Sermoru,  p.  17. 

2  HomUeties,  p.  28. 

3  P.  21.    This  Idea,  in  his  book,  is  developed  at  length  from  p.  1  to  p.  28. 


Definition  and  Description,  119 

dead  carcass  of  ideas ;  makes  thought  to  breathe  and  words 
to  glow.  "When  a  man  who  is  apt  in  teaching,  whose  soul 
is  on  fire  with  the  truth  which  he  trusts  has  saved  him  and 
hopes  will  save  others,  speaks  to  his  fellow-men,  face  to 
face,  eye  to  eye,  and  electric  sympathies  flash  to  and  fro 
between  him  and  his  hearers,  till  they  lift  each  other  up, 
higher  and  higher,  into  the  intensest  thought,  and  the  most 
impassioned  emotion — higher  and  yet  higher,  till  they  are 
borne  as  on  chariots  of  fire  above  the  world, — there  is  a 
power  to  move  men,  to  influence  character,  life,  destiny, 
such  as  no  printed  page  can  ever  possess." '  "Why  do  peo- 
ple go  to  a  theater  to  hear  Hamlet  performed  upon  the 
stage,  rather  than  to  a  library  to  read  the  same  from  a 
printed  page?  There  is  certainly  an  additional  force  in 
the  incarnate,  personated  presence  of  an  idea;  and  it  was 
mainly  for  this  reason  that  the  "Word  was  made  flesh,*' 
and  that  afterward  a  living  ministry  was  instituted  as  a 
supplement  and  complement  to  the  written  Revelation, 
in  order  that  the  gospel  might  be  addressed  to  living 
men  in  a  living  way.  Communication  through  human  lips 
gives  to  divine  truth  freshness  of  spirit.  "As  the  water 
that  issues  from  a  fountain  comes  originally  from  the 
clouds,  but  in  its  passage  through  the  earth  acquires  the 
sharpness  and  sparkle  of  spring-water;  so  divine  truth, 
coming  first  from  above,  but  passing  through  the  soul 
of  the  preacher,  acquires  that  element  of  freshness  on 
which,  under  God,  its  efficiency  depends."^ 

The  sermon,  then,  is  the  vitalizing  instrument  of  truth — 
a  living  logos^  instead  of  a  written  composition,  permeated 
with  the  divine  Spirit  and  power  as  it  issues  forth  fresh 
and  warm  from  human  lips.  It  is  the  word  addressed 
objectively  to  the  understanding  of  men,  and  enforced  sub- 

I  Broadus'  fVep.  and  Del.  of  Sermons,  p.  18 . 
a  Blaikie,  For  the  Work  of  the  Mnutry,  p.  96 


120  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

jectively  in  the  heart  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ.     Without 
vocal  expression  it  may  be  a  religious  essay,  poem,  or  tract; 
but  a  sermon  it  can  not  be  until  it  is  spoken,  or  transmuted 
into  the  bread  of  life.     What  arc  called  printed  sermons 
are  only  the  fossil  remains  of  what  were  once  real  sermons. 
They  may  give  us  some  idea  of  what  they  were  in  respect 
to  material  and  form,  but  they  lack  the  living  voice,  the 
beating  heart,  the  glowing  fire.     They   are  dead  bodies 
without  souls.     The  original  sermon  lived  only  during  the 
period  of  its  delivery,  and  its  mission  was  accomplished 
during  that  brief  life-time,  though  its  influence  and  im- 
pression may  linger  in  the  hearer's  mind,  like  the  memo- 
ries of  departed   love,  long   after  the   preacher's  voice  is 
silent,  and  though  its  body  may  be  embalmed  in  printed 
form,  and  preserved  as  a  relic  of  what  we  call  preaching. 
No  one  could   print  Whitefield's  sermons.     No  one  can 
read   sermons.     We  must  hear  them  to  know  what  they 
are.   They  are  to  be  found  only  in  pulpits, — never  in  books. 
Another  distinguishing  feature  of  the  sermon  is,  that  it 
diflfers  from  the  oration,  or  any  other  oral  address,  by  being 
based  upon  the  Word  of  God,  and  aimed  principally  at  the  sal- 
vation of  the  hearer.     In  secular  and   civil   eloquence,  the 
highest  object  is  to  please,  to  instruct,  or  to  incite  to  civic 
measures,  and   its   arguments   may   rest   upon   any  data^ 
premise,  or  authority  whatever  within  the  range  of  human 
knowledge.     Not  so  in  sacred  eloquence.     The  sermon,  so 
far  as  material  is  concerned,  is  exclusively  an  interpretation 
of  the  Scriptures,' — an  elucidation  of  the  divine  will;  and  a 
man's  horailetical  skill  consists  in  communicating  their  true 
sense  to  the  minds  of  the  hearers  in  the  clearest  and  strong- 
est light.     It  must  not  contain  everything  interesting  iu 
science,  exciting  in  politics,  beautiful  in  art,  or  pleasing  in 
literature,  except  as  aids  in  illustrating  or  unfolding  the 

I  Of.  Sliedd'a  Homiletics  and  Pusloral  Theology,  pp.  1-7. 


Definition  and  Description.  12 1 

word  of  God.  The  sermon  is  the  word  of  God,  ampli- 
fied and  illustrated,  though  not  inspired,  like  the  original. 
It  gravitates  around  its  central  theme — Christ;  and  to  this 
sacred  mooring  the  sermon  must  be  anchored  during  all 
ages  and  epochs, .under  all  changes  and  revolutions  of 
science,  philosophy,  and  religion;  and  the  moment  it  vio- 
lates the  terms  of  its  divine  charter,  by  indulging  in  illegal 
or  unscriptural  speculations,  does  it  cease  to  be  a  sermon. 

Herein  lies  the  secret  of  the  sermon's  power  and  perma- 
nence; namely,  its  intensely  evangelical  or  scriptural  char- 
acter. The  works  of  secular  literature  and  art  may  be 
grand  in  conception,  but  they  are  dim  in  the  presence  of 
a  highly  biblical  production.  Dante's  supremacy  over  the 
ancients  is  due  to  the  use  he  made  of  scripture  thought 
and  imagery.  What  a  contrast  in  enduring  power  between 
Milton's  "Paradise  Lost"  and  Pope's  "  Essay  on  Man!'* 
The  one  the  incarnation  of  the  deep  Puritanic  faith  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  the  other  the  reflection  of  the 
deism  of  the  eighteenth.  "  The  grandest  architecture  of 
the  world,  its  finest  sculpture,  painting,  musical  composi- 
tions, and  its  most  profound  thought,  and  its  progressive 
civilization,  can  never  throw  ofi'  their  allegiance  to  the 
Bible;  "^  and  the  sermon  of  Barrow  on  the  "Crucifixion'* 
will  outlast  in  power  of  impression  the  finest  ode  of  Pindar 
or  the  best  chorus  of  Sophocles.  "  All  the  world's  litera- 
ture veils  its  face  when  brought  into  the  presence  of  those 
gospel  biographies  of  the  God-man,  the  portraiture  of  that 
Personage  who  fills  all  history  as  the  sun  fills  the  hemi- 
sphere." 

But  the  dignity  of  the  sermon  is  increased  by  the  other 
characteristic,  that  it  is  not  only  biblical,  but  designed  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  highest  object  in  life — the  sal- 
vation of  men.     It  could  not  accomplish  this  end  without 

X  Townsend's  Sword  and  Garment,  p.  74. 


122  The  Preacher  a?id  His  Serynon. 

fidelity  to  its  divine  authority;  nor  could  it  be  called  a 
sermon  without  this  end  in  view  as  the  rulins:  motive. 
Any  literary  production,  whether  written  or  spoken,  may 
be  the  outgrowth  of  scripture,  but  its  primary  object  is 
always  a  secondary  or  insignificant  matter  in  comparison 
with  that  of  the  sermon,  which  addresses  itself  to  the 
dearest  and  highest  interest  of  man  as  its  object;  and  for 
this  reason  the  sermon  has  the  largest  audience.  The 
largest  circulation  of  the  best  book  outside  the  Bible  is 
only  a  few  millions,  while  three  hundred  millions  go  every 
Sunday  to  listen  to  a  sermon.  Nothing  in  science,  art, 
literature,  or  commerce, — in  fine,  no  species  of  human 
enterprise  can  have  such  claim  upon  the  attention  of  man- 
kind; for  nothing  can  be  grander  in  its  purpose  than  that 
which  constituted  the  mission  of  Christ  himself.  Herein 
lies  the  secret  of  the  preacher's  inspiration  and  eloquence. 
If  a  proper  conception  of  the  value  and  eternal  destiny  of 
immortal  souls  can  not  inspire  the  speaker  with  rhetorical 
power,  he  will  not  likely  succeed  in  any  other  and  inferior 
field  of  oratory. 

The  mission  of  the  sermon  is  to  apply  religious  truth 
wisely  and  forcibly  to  the  present  and  eternal  welfare  of 
man.  Man  is  ruined;  society  is  to  be  regenerated;  the 
depraved  condition  of  wrecked  humanity  is  to  be  improved. 
The  preacher  in  this  respect  is  a  Phidias,  who  is  to  con- 
ceive, and,  from  rude  stones  taken  rough  out  of  the  quarry, 
to  fashion,  forms  of  superhuman  dignity  and  beauty.  His 
sermon  is  to  aim  at  the  reformation  of  our  universal  broth- 
irhood,  and  give  it  a  character  tar  superior  to  that  of 
More's  "Utopia,"  or  Plato's  "Republic."  He  is  to  be 
inspired  by  no  intellectual  ideality,  but  the  reality  of  a 
most  blessed  reign  of  peace,  that  will  be  displayed  in  the 
coming  Millennium. 

But  the  great  purpose  of  the  sermon  is  to  educate  men 


Definition  and  Description.  123 

for  eternity,  and  it  is  destined  to  exert  an  influence  that  will 
be  felt  when  earth  and  time  shall  have  passed  away.  "What 
should  more  engage  our  efforts  than  the  salvation  of  an 
immortal  soul?  He  who  wins  a  kingdom  may  astonish 
the  world,  hut  he  who  wins  a  soul  to  Christ  sends  a  thrill 
through  heaven.  Consider  the  awful  circumstances  in 
which  the  preacher  delivers  his  message.  He  stands  in 
the  presence  of  the  Almighty,  whose  minister  he  is;  he 
appeals  to  man,  whose  destiny  may  hang  on  the  decision 
of  an  hour — heaven  glittering  from  above,  hell  rumbling 
from  beneath,  sinners  hesitating,  and  the  time  for  decision 
coming  to  a  close.  Under  such  solemn  moments,  when  so 
much  is  at  stake,  can  any  stop  to  think  of  self — of  his 
reputation,  or  of  the  applause  which  his  musical  sentences 
and  fine  intonations  are  to  secure?  Ko  one  who  under- 
stands and  feels  the  high  object  of  his  preaching  will  make 
his  sermon  either  a  play  or  a  display.  His  "joy  and  his 
crown"  will  be  the  conversion  of  souls.  Such  it  will 
appear  to  have  been  when  the  joys  of  the  redeemed  and 
the  torments  of  the  lost  shall  be  felt  in  their  everlasting 
weight,  and  when  the  magnitude  of  God's  redemption  and 
the  wondrous  results  that  flow  from  it  shall  be  unfolded. 
Do  we  believe  what  we  preach — that  the  conversion  of  a 
soul  is  of  more  consequence  than  the  creation  of  a  world; 
that  our  voices  will  be  echoed  through  the  eternal  ages 
as  instrumental  in  the  fixed  destinies  of  many  immortal 
beings?  Then  will  we  tremble,  and  preach  as  Apelles 
painted — for  eternity. 

According,  then,  to  the  foregoing  definition  and  descrip- 
tion, the  sermon  is  the  noblest  and  strongest  instrumen- 
tality in  the  world.  In  its  composition  are  included  all  of 
the  preacher's  personality  in  character,  experience,  and 
mtellect,  and  the  personality  of  the  divine  Mind  as  revealed 
in  the  Scriptures,  all  for  the  supreme  purpose  of  persuad- 


124  Tlie  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

ing  men  to  become  reconciled  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
"  The  Spirit  of  God  and  the  spirit  of  man  are  in  it  and 
■wield  it."  It  is  the  combination  of  human  and  divine 
agencies  in  the  work  of  saving  souls. 

§   n.      BRIEF    HISTORY   OP   THE   SERMON. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  church  the  sermon  was  called 
homily.  Originally,  the  homily  was  a  familiar  interloc- 
utory address,  conducted  between  speaker  and  hearer, 
without  regard  to  much  system.  The  pseudo-Clementine 
homilies  are  supposed  to  be  the  talks  and  disputations  of 
Peter  with  Simon  Magus.  The  preaching  of  Christ  was 
properly  the  initiatory  and  model  Christian  sermon.  In 
the  first  and  second  centuries  it  was  simple  and  artless, 
consisting,  perhaps,  in  running  commentary  on  scripture 
or  answers  to  questions.  Sometimes  it  was  really  eloquent 
and  somewhat  systematic,  when  produced  by  the  more 
educated  and  pious;  while  in  the  third  and  fourth  centu- 
ries it  assumed  a  more  rhetorical  structure,  "  bringing  in 
all  the  helps  to  be  derived  from  learning  and  eloquence," 
and  thus  gradually  reached  a  rhetorical  structure,  having 
unity  and  order.  Origen  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  first  to 
construct  the  formal  homily,  built  somewhat  on  the  rules 
of  Greek  eloquence,  and  to  give  it  an  expository  character; 
though  scripture  exegesis  or  interpretation  was  no  essential 
characteristic  of  the  homily,  as  Yinet  incorrectly  supposes. 
After  the  sixth  century  began  a  tendency  to  mere  artistic 
skill  and  self-display,  which  continued  to  sink  the  sermon 
lower  and  lower  until  the  Reformation. 

In  the  early  period  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  when  few 
priests  were  capable  of  preaching,  discourses  were  framed 
from  the  Fathers,  to  be  read  from  the  pulpit.  In  the 
medieval  age,  homilaria,  or  collections  of  homilies,  were 
used,  the  most  celebrated  of   which  was  that  known  as 


Brief  History  of  the  Sermon.  125 

"  Charlemagne's  Ilomilarium."  It  was,  however,  not  until 
at  an  early  period  of  the  Reformation  that  the  term  homily 
received  its  fixed  or  technical  use,  meaning  a  sermon  pre- 
pared by  a  bishop  to  be  preached  by  the  inferior  clergy. 
Since  the  Reformation  the  term  homily  has  fallen  out  of 
use,  and  the  word  sermon,  with  some  modification,  is  now 
used  to  designate  every  form  of  pulpit  discourse,  as  a  more 
appropriate  term  to  be  applied  to  such  address. 

Peter's  discourse  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  has  been  called 
"the  first  Christian  sermon;"  but  Christ's  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  claims  precedence — not  only  in  time,  but  also  in 
importance. 

The  sermon  in  the  primitive  church  was  more  didactic 
and  missionary  in  form  and  substance  than  now,  and,  no 
doubt,  for  this  reason  was  called  a  "  simple  address "  by 
Neander.  The  discourses  of  Ambrose  and  Augustine  in 
the  Latin  Church,  and  of  Basil,  Gregory  ITazianzen,  Cyril, 
and  Chrysostom  in  the  Greek,  shed  a  glory  over  the  fourth 
and  fifth  centuries,  and  are  distinguished  for  their  exposi- 
tory character,  making  the  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  the 
basis  and  material  of  instruction.  From  the  fifth  to  the 
sixteenth  century,  during  the  medieval  period,  under  the 
influence  of  sacerdotalism,  the  sermon  lost  much  of  its 
spiritual  and  scriptural  character,  and  became  formal, 
speculative,  and  even  secular.  Yain  ecclesiastics  made  it 
their  chief  aim  to  secure  the  applause  of  their  hearers. 
"  In  imitation  of  the  pagan  theaters,  it  became  an  exten- 
sive custom  for  hearers  to  express  their  approbation  of  a 
sermon  by  tumultuous  applause,  such  as  stamping,  clap- 
ping, waving  of  handkerchiefs,  and  loud  acclamations."' 
As  a  result  of  such  preaching  the  dark  ages  were  marked 
by  the  prevalence  of  ritualism  and  spiritual  death.  At  the 
Reformation   the  sermon  again  returned  to  its   primitive 

I  Porter's  lieeturet  on  Homiletics,  p.  68. 


126  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

evangelical  character.  The  reformers  unfurled  the  true 
banner,  and  Luther  preached  the  gospel  of  Christ  in  words 
that  "  were  half-battles." 

The  German  sermon,  though  retaining  something  of  the 
fire  of  the  reformers,  has,  however,  not  sustained  the  fame 
of  Luther's  and  Melanchthon's  preaching.  The  mataphys- 
ical  and  philosophical  cast  so  characteristic  of  the  German 
mind  is  seen  in  the  sermons  of  Schleiermacher  and  Tho- 
luck.  Since  the  recovery  of  that  philosophical  land  from 
the  withering  blight  of  rationalism,  there  has  been  a  re- 
vival of  evangelical  preaching,  which,  among  its  leading 
preachers,  has  not  yet  been  extinguished  by  learning  and 
thought. 

The  French  sermon,  as  a  rule,  was  brilliant,  especially  in 
the  time  of  Louis  XIY.,  which  was  the  golden  age  of 
French  pulpit  eloquence.  Among  the  Protestant  preach- 
ers, Du  Moulin,  Faucheur,  Du  Bosc,  Claude,  and  Saurin 
were  the  principal  representatives.  Among  the  Roman 
Catholics,  Bossuet,  Bourdaloue,  and  Massillon  were  elo- 
quent and  elaborate,  and  addressed  mostly  courtiers  and 
the  elite  circles  of  society,  who  would  listen  to  nothing  but 
what  was  faultless  in  style  and  diction.  Among  the  more 
recent  French  preachers  —  Yinet,  D'Aubigne,  Malan,  Mo- 
nod,  Lacordaire,  the  elder  Coquerel,  Father  Hyacinthe, 
Bersier,  and  M.  De  Pressense,  —  we  find  many  specimens 
of  true  Christian  eloquence. 

The  English,  or  British  sermon  has  never  been  so  sys- 
tematic in  structure  and  finish  as  the  French,  but  excels 
every  other  in  variety  of  style,  and  especially  in  master- 
pieces of  pulpit  eloquence.  The  non-conformists  were 
noted  for  fullness  of  doctrinal  statement  and  evangelical 
intensity,  while  the  churchmen  addressed  themselves  to 
the  practical  ethics  of  daily  life.  "  They  had  a  great  faculty 
of  planning  and  arranging,  often  a  remarkable  breadth  of 


Relation  of  the  Sermon  to  Homiletics.         127 

view,  embracing  all  the  aspects  of  their  subject,  and  a 
great  power  of  clear,  correct,  and  forcible  expression." 
The  British  pulpit  can  boast  of  such  names  as  Howe,  Owen, 
Baxter,  Bishop  Hall,  South,  Barrow,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Dod- 
dridge, Whitefield,  Wesley,  Robert  Hall,  Jay,  Chalmers, 
Robertson,  Guthrie,  McCheyne,  Spurgeou,  and  a  host  of 
other  famous  preachers,  whose  sermons  will  never  cease  to 
be  admired  and  studied  as  models  of  pulpit  eloquence. 

The  American  sermon,  in  the  early  history  of  our  country, 
was  biblical  in  form,  but  scholarly  and  dogmatic  in  spirit, 
owing  greatly  to  the  fact  that  the  educational  work  of  the 
country  was  confined  to  the  ministerial  class.  Afterward 
it  combined  deep  spiritual  earnestness  with  metaphysical 
thought,  which  found  an  exponent  in  the  preaching  of 
Jonathan  Edwards,  who  may  be  called  the  champion  of 
the  American  pulpit,  at  least  for  the  last  century  and  a  half. 
During  the  past  forty  years  it  has  been  literary  and  argu- 
mentative, aiming,  perhaps,  too  much  at  a  philosophical 
systemization  of  divine  truth.  At  this  time  the  sermon  is, 
perhaps,  no  less  systematical,  but  more  biblical  and  search- 
ing. Henry  Ward  Beecher,  T.  DeWitt  Talmage,  John 
Hall,  T.  L.  Cuyler,  Chas.  F.  Deems,  J.  P.  Newman,  and 
Phillips  Brooks  bring  the  gospel  truth  into  vital  contact 
with  the  human  heart,  touch  its  feelings,  and  transfix  it 
with  the  arrow  of  conviction. 

§  in.      RELATION   OP   THE   SERMON   TO   HOMILETICS. 

It  is  now  agreed  by  nearly  all  homilists  that  the  relation 
of  homiletics  to  rhetoric  is  that  of  species  to  genus;  but  no 
such  relation  exists  between  the  sermon  and  homiletics. 
Homiletics  is  the  science  which  treats  of  the  principles, 
theories,  and  rules  belonging  to  preaching.  Preaching  is 
the  art  which  consists  in  the  practice  and  application  of 
the  principles,  theories,  and  rules  of  homiletics  in  actual 


128  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

speaking;  and  the  sermon  18  the  result  of  both  theory  aii  J 
and  practice.  Homiletics,  then,  is  the  instrument,  and  the 
sermon  the  product;  and  as  the  fabric  is  greater  than  the 
tools  used  in  its  construction,  so  the  sermon  is  superior  to 
homiletics. 

Matter  is  more  important  than  form.  The  science  of 
preaching  has  to  do  with  the  manipulating  of  material, — 
selecting,  arranging,  and  expressing  ideas.  It  can  not 
originate  or  create  thought;  it  can  not  give  unction  and  elo- 
quence; it  simply  fabricates  the  sermonic  material.  Method 
and  form  are  important;  but  piety,  knowledge,  and  the 
blessing  of  God  are  essential.  Without  these  the  best  form 
can  not  produce  a  good  sermon. 

"Rules  are  the  summary,  the  generalization  of  particular 
experiences."'  All  that  homiletics  can  do  is  to  reduce  the 
result  of  experience  of  the  most  successful  preaching  into 
a  science,  or  rules,  for  the  guidance  of  the  inexperienced. 
It  simply  tells  how  one  does  preach  when  he  preaches  suc- 
cessfully. But  it  can  no  more  make  a  successful  preacher 
than  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  can  make  a  Christian. 
Yet  rules  have  their  important  use.  "  They  aid  our  views, 
they  keep  us  from  false  views;  they  shorten  the  time  and 
the  uncertainty  of  walking  in  the  dark."^  And  herein  con- 
sists their  value.  But  they  have  exhausted  their  purpose 
as  soon  as  skill  in  their  use  has  been  acquired.  Like  the 
law,  they  are  a  "school-master." 

Homiletics  was  made  for  the  sermon,  and  not  the  sermon 
for  homiletics.  Homiletics  must  be  regarded  as  a  means 
to  an  end.  "When  writers  on  homiletics  give  rules  and 
precepts  for  sermonizing,  they  do  not  put  an  iron  harness 
upon  the  preacher,  under  whose  gritty  yoke  he  must  work 
out  every  sermon,  no  matter  how  galling  it  may  be.  The 
ministry  might  well   languish  under    the   reign  of   such 

I  Viaet's  HomUetiet,  p.  47.  a  Ibid. 


The  Sermon  Should  be  no  Ordinary  Effort.     129 

homiletical  tyranny.  They  are  rather  framers  of  a  decla- 
ration of  independence  that  accords  to  every  preacher  the 
inalienable  right  of  liberty  within  the  sphere  of  efficiency 
and  usefulness.  Homiletics  seeks  to  discover  the  best 
methods  that  will  produce  a  good  sermon.  It  does  not 
claim  infallibility  under  the  test  of  every  variety  of  minis- 
terial experience;  yet  the  preacher  who  habitually — perhaps 
unconsciously — constructs  his  sermons  after  homiletical 
rules  will  undoubtedly  produce  a  better  sermon  than  he 
who  ignores  such  help.  The  conclusion,  then,  is  that  the 
sermon  is  greater  than  the  rule,  as  the  gospel  is  greater 
than  the  law;  and  that  homiletics  will  be  of  service  only 
so  far  as  it  promotes  efficient  preaching. 

§  IV.   THE  SERMON  SHOULD  BE  NO  ORDINARY  EFFORT. 

It  should  be  of  a  higher  order  than  the  common  oration. 
Nothing  deserves  so  much  censure  as  a  dull  sermon,  one 
that  makes  no  impression  whatever,  but  allows  people  to 
fall  asleep  under  its  delivery.  If  the  sermon  is  uninterest- 
ing, the  people  may  be  blamed  for  their  listlessness,  but 
the  preacher  deserves  most  of  the  blame  for  his  dullness — 
his  inability  to  arouse  them.  The  matter  and  spirit  of  his 
discourse  must  be  such  as  to  compel  men  to  listen,  in  spite 
of  their  indifference.  It  must  give  them  something  to 
think  about,  something  to  arrest  their  attention,  something 
to  prick  their  consciences,  something  that  will  keep  them 
too  busy  with  the  sermon  to  think  about  anything  else. 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  sermon  should  be  dull.  Of  all 
forces,  none  are  so  great  as  thought-force.  Thoughts  rule 
our  affections  and  our  wills.  Like  the  silent,  invisible 
power  of  universal  gravitation,  they  affect  all  minds,  and 
move  them  with  a  force  which  nothing  but  Omnipotence 
can  resist.  Of  all  thoughts,  none  are  so  powerful  as  relig- 
ious thoughts.  For  religion's  sake  men  will  sacrifice  every- 
9 


130  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

thing, —  sufl'er  shame  and  martyrdom  and  death.  Relig- 
ious controversies  are  the  sharpest.  Religious  wars  are 
the  fiercest.  Men  will  employ  every  resource  of  human 
power  and  skill  for  the  defense  of  a  religious  opinion. 
But  of  all  religious  thoughts  none  are  so  powerful  aa 
Christian  thoughts — thoughts  about  Christ  and  his  doc- 
trines. For  over  eighteen  hundred  years  Christianity  has 
molded  society;  crowded  libraries  with  numberless  books, 
pamphlets,  and  periodicals  upon  Christian  themes  that  stir 
men's  blood;  reared  the  finest  specimens  of  architectural 
beauty;  girdled  the  earth  with  songs  of  praise,  and  filled 
heaven  with  redeemed  saints.  Here,  then,  is  the  power 
of  the  pulpit — the  wielding  of  religious,  Christian  thought. 
The  preacher  does  not  deal  with  the  small  atomic  forces  of 
life,  but  with  themes  of  mammoth  proportions,  whose  roots 
are  the  deepest  and  broadest  in  philosophy,  whose  ques- 
tions touch  the  greatest  problems  of  our  being  and  the 
most  tender  affections  of  our  nature.  A  preacher  that  will 
handle  such  subjects  in  cold  blood  can  have  but  little  ex- 
perimental knowledge  of  the  power  of  gospel  truth. 

Again,  the  sermon  ought  to  be  good,  not  only  on  account 
of  the  intrinsic  worth  of  its  subject-matter,  but  because  it 
is  the  product  of  all  the  preacher's  previous  study  and 
experience.  Behind  every  sermon  is  the  sum  total  of  the 
preacher's  life,  with  all  its  weight  of  culture,  learning, 
reflection,  piety,  and  toil.  The  actual  preparation  of  the 
sermon  may  be  performed  in  a  few  days,  yet  it  is  the  result 
of  a  man's  whole  past  life,  extracted  from  the  best  resources 
of  his  accumulated  strength,  and  put  into  one  effort  of 
eloquence.  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  painted  a  small  cabinet 
picture  in  five  days,  for  which  he  charged  what  seemed  to 
the  purchaser  to  be  an  extravagant  price.  "Why  charge 
so  much  for  a  work  that  cost  you  only  five  days'  labor?" 
asked  the  purchaser.   "Five  days!"  said  Reynolds.   "Why, 


The  Sermon  Should  be  no  Ordinary  Effort.     131 

sir,  I  have  expended  the  work  of  thirty-five  years  upon 
it."  What  was  true  of  the  painter's  picture  is  also  true  of 
the  preacher's  sermon.  It  represents  all  the  years  of  his 
professional  toil.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  preached  his  cele- 
brated sermon  on  the  "  Government  of  God "  during  a 
powerful  revival  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  asked  by  one  of 
the  astonished  hearers,  "  Doctor,  how  long  did  it  take  you 
to  prepare  that  sermon?"  To  which  he  promptly  replied, 
"About  forty  years."  Such  sermons  are  not  the  growth 
of  a  momentary  inspiration;  they  do  not  spring  up  in  a 
day,  like  the  mushroom,  but  develop  like  the  oak. 

The  true  model  sermon  should  aim  high  in  its  purposes 
and  results.  A  man's  supreme  efibrt,  which  contains  the 
whole  force  of  his  life,  expended  upon  the  most  inspiring, 
religious,  Christian  thought,  should  accomplish  no  little 
amount  of  good  upon  the  hearer.  It  should  aim  at  a  radi- 
cal change  of  character  and  life,  should  inspire  men  with 
the  purest  motives,  make  their  life  the  best  and  noblest 
possible,  and  the  fittest  preparation  for  the  life  to  come. 
Some  of  the  hearers  have  come  from  sick-beds,  fierce  con- 
flicts, sore  bereavements  and  losses,  and  will  return  to  them 
again;  others  have  come  to  seek  spiritual  food  for  their 
hunger,  relief  from  doubt,  and  counsel  to  direct  them  in 
their  penitence.  Some  are  there  for  the  first  time,  some  for 
the  last  time.  The  preacher  speaks  in  every  sermon  to  men 
whom  he  may  never  address  again.  How  much  depends 
upon  the  issue  of  that  one  sermon !  If  men  would  always 
perceive  and  feel  the  responsibility  and  magnitude  of  their 
situation  as  they  stand  appealing  to  men,  by  divine  commis- 
sion, their  words  would  not  fall  so  lightly  upon  men's  ears. 
Every  sermon  should  awaken  consciences,  soften  hearts, 
transport  minds  to  the  great  future,  and  show  them  things 
to  come.  It  ought  to  mold  human  destiny,  send  people 
home  weeping  over  sin,  and  "make  every  one  go  away 


132  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

silent  .and  grave,  and  hastening  to  be  alone,  to  meditate 
and  pray  the  matter  over  in  secret."  How  different  in 
effect  is  such  a  sermon  from  one  that  awakens  only  applause 
or  admiration  for  the  preacher  and  his  eloquence.  The 
true  preacher  hides  himself  behind  the  cross,  and  asks  men 
not  to  look  at  him,  but  at  Christ.  In  his  sermon  is  a 
higher  aim  than  mere  success  —  than  ambition  to  produce 
great  sermons  that  will  be  admired  and  praised  by  men. 

But  a  sermon's  usefulness  does  not  terminate  with  the 
hour  of  service.  It  is  destined  to  follow  men  through 
coming  years,  and  to  be  a  silent  power  with  them  during 
every  hour  of  their  lives.  In  hours  of  toil  and  in  hours  of 
rest,  in  times  of  adversity  and  in  times  of  prosperity,  in  the 
family  and  in  the  store,  it  should  be  a  solace  in  the  Chris- 
tian pilgrimage,  —  slumbering,  perhaps,  while  life  flows 
smoothly,  but  awakening  in  the  day  of  trial,  and  comfort- 
ing the  soul  in  the  hour  of  death.  In  short,  it  should  be  a 
sermon  that  will  be  cherished  in  time,  and  remembered  by 
many  in  eternity.  In  achieving  these  results  "we  need  more 
of  Baxter's  determination  '  to  get  within  men  and  to  bring 
each  truth  to  the  quick;'  more  of  St.  Jerome's  endeavor, 
*  not  to  draw  applause,  but  rather  sighs  and  groans  from 
the  people,  and  let  their  tears  praise  you;'  more  of  holy 
Herbert's  conviction,  that  'sermons  are  dangerous  things — 
no  one  goes  out  of  church  as  he  came  in,  but  either  better 
or  worse;'  more  of  that  holy  violence  that  comes  from  a 
burdening  belief  that  there  is  an  infinite  weight  of  weal  or 
woe  in  every  sermon  for  every  present  soul,  and  that  the 
preacher  and  congregation  shall  be  judged  by  it  at  the 
great  and  terrible  day."^ 

It  is  well  for  a  young  preacher  to  keep  habitually  before 
his  mind  a  very  high  ideal  of  what  a  sermon  ought  to  be. 
He  should  frequently  listen  to  the  ablest  preachers,  and 

I  Church  Review,  January,  1800. 


The  Sermo7t  of  To- Day  Ought  to  Excel.      133 

select,  for  reading  and  study,  the  productions  of  some  of 
the  great  masters  of  the  art.  ITo  one  will  attain  to  excel- 
lence who  keeps  in  view  a  low  standard  of  preaching.  Let 
him  cherish  the  deep  conviction  that  on  every  occasion  he 
ought  to  do  his  very  best.  "  Much  will  be  attained  if  the 
mental  habit  be  formed  in  the  young  preacher  of  fre- 
quently interrupting  himself  in  the  course  of  his  prepara- 
tion with  the  question,  '  Is  this  the  best  that,  with  God*s 
grace,  I  can  do  ? '  It  matters  little  if,  as  the  result,  many 
first  attempts  should  be  consigned  to  the  flames,  and  he 
should  still  find  himself,  after  hours  of  efibrt,  apparently, 
but  not  really,  at  the  beginning  of  his  undertaking."^ 

Another  way  of  improving  our  sermons  is  by  occasionally 
putting  ourselves  in  the  hearer's  place,  either  in  thought 
or  in  reality,  and  thereby  forming  an  estimate  of  what  a 
sermon  ought  to  be.  Ministers  too  often  estimate  their 
own  sermons  from  their  own  feelings  and  stand -point. 
Dr.  Cuyler,  while  visiting  some  neighboring  churches, 
during  his  vacation,  applied  this  test  with  profit.  "While 
listening  and  soliloquizing  he  said,  "Well,  God  helping 
me,  if  I  ever  get  back  to  my  pulpit  again  I  will  try  to 
preach  as  if  I  had  another  self  sitting  in  the  seat  before  me, 
and  I  was  preaching  at  him.  I  realize  now,  as  never 
before,  how  it  feels  to  be  preached  to,  and  what  it  is  that 
meets  my  soul's  necessities." 

§  V.   THE  SERMON  OF  TO-DAY  OUGHT  TO  EXCEL  THAT  OF  ANT 
FORMER  PERIOD. 

The  past  has  been  productive  of  many  good  preachers 
and  sei-mons,  some  of  which,  in  many  respects,  stand  un- 
rivaled by  anything  in  modern  sermonology.  But,  for 
good  reasons,  the  average  sermon  of  to-day  ought  to  be 
better — and  it  is  better — than  that  of  the  past. 

1  Blaikie,  For  the  Work  of  the  Ministry,  p.  116. 


134  ^/^^  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

First.  Our  times  demand  a  better  quality  of  preaching  than 
was  formerly  demanded.  The  masses  have  advanced  more 
rapidly  during  the  last  half  century  than  the  literary  and 
professional  circles,  so  that  to-day  our  lay  congregations  are 
not  so  far  behind  the  clergy  in  general  knowledge  as  they 
were  a  century  ago.  Sermons  are  so  numerous  now  that  the 
ordinary  one  of  fifty  years  ago  will  scarcely  get  a  respect- 
ful hearing  in  our  modern  churches.  The  age  is  critical, 
fastidious,  and  not  satisfied  with  that  which  is  only  medi- 
ocre. It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  occupy  higher  grounds 
if  we  would  elevate  the  pulpit  to  the  same  relative  position 
which  it  occupied  in  the  past. 

Second.  The  sermon  of  to-day  ought  to  be  superior 
because  of  the  improved  facilities  of  preachi7ig  which  this  age 
affords.  Among  the  many  advantages,  we  mention  the 
professional  schools  for  the  study  of  theology  and  preach- 
ing, which  are  now  accessible  to  nearly  all.  The  time  was 
when  the  privilege  of  acquiring  a  theological  education  in 
the  seminary  was,  with  the  student,  a  question  of  pecun- 
iary ability.  iNTow,  with  the  many  beneficiary  funds  and 
endowments  for  the  aid  of  indigent  students,  it  is  only  a 
question  of  adaptation  and  of  a  divine  call  to  the  ministry 
on  the  part  of  the  applicant,  as  to  whether  or  not  he  can 
acquire  a  thorough  preparation.'  With  a  little  economy 
and  perseverance,  the  poorest  of  the  poor  may  now  become 
educated  in  the  schools,  and  in  preaching-ability  rise  to  a 
level  with,  if  not  pre-eminence  above,  the  most  opulent. 

Another  facility  for  the  production  of  a  superior  sermon 
is  furnished  in  the  abundance  of  our  homiletical  literature. 
We  are  in  possession  of  all  that  the  wisdom  of  the  past 
has  gathered  for  our  instruction  and  profit.  The  present 
number  of  printed  sermons,  from  the  ablest  and  best  of 

I  We  do  not  say  that  such  assistance  is  always  a  help  to  a  young  man.  We  or  '» 
refer  to  the  advantage  it  affords  when  properly  used. 


The  Sermon  of  To-Day  Oiight  to  Excel.      135 

preachers  of  all  times,  is  legion,  affording  an  almost  infi- 
nite variety  of  style,  plan,  and  method,  by  the  study  of 
which  our  preaching  may  be  greatly  improved.  Books  and 
cyclopedias  of  illustrations  are  at  command  to  enrich  the 
sermon  with  attractive  examples  of  fact  and  incident. 
Commentary  and  Bible  biography  yield  their  increase  and 
drop  their  fatness  into  the  preacher's  study;  and,  "par  excel- 
lence^ the  most  valuable  aid  is  found  in  the  many  able 
treatises  on  homiletics  which  now  crowd  our  libraries,  the 
best  of  which  have  appeared  during  the  last  few  decades. 
America,  at  present,  stands  unrivaled  in  the  production  of 
the  most  excellent  text-books  on  preaching.  In  point  of 
systematic  treatment  and  practical  merit,  our  modern  au- 
thors on  homiletics  stand  unsurpassed  by  anything  that  the 
past  has  evolved.  Never  before  were  there  so  many  lecture 
courses  on  preaching,  so  many  discussions  of  the  subject 
in  our  reviews  and  periodicals,  by  our  ablest  teachers  and 
preachers,  solving  the  vexed  problems  of  the  pulpit  and 
throwing  light  along  the  preacher's  pathway.  Hence, 
to-day,  no  one  need  lack  knowledge  of  the  best  method  of 
addressing  the  gospel  to  the  hearts  and  minds  of  men. 
This,  indeed,  is  the  golden  age  of  homiletical  literature; 
and  with  such  rich  resources  of  material  and  implement  we 
ought  surely  to  see  marked  effects  in  an  improved  order  of 
the  sermon  and  a  higher  efficiency  in  the  pulpit. 

Third.  Another  reason  why  our  modern  sermon  should 
excel,  is  because  we  possess  to-day  an  imjproved  system  of 
theology.  Theology  can  not  be  improved  or  changed  in  its 
essential  doctrines  and  truths.  These  are  as  immutable  as 
God  himself.  But  in  the  progress  of  study  and  investiga- 
tion, these  truths  of  the  gospel  may  be  more  accurately 
defined  and  more  clearly  presented.  There  may  be  great 
improvement  in  stating,  explaining,  guarding,  applying, 
and  defending  them.     Apparent  difficulties  may  be  cleared 


136  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

away,  objections  obviated,  and  doctrinal  proof  strength- 
ened. In  these  respects  our  theology  is  greatly  in  advance 
of  that  of  the  ancient  and  medieval  church,  and  will  still 
advance  in  time  to  come.  Much  improvement  comes  to 
theology  from  investigations  in  science  and  archaeology, 
such  as  the  researches  of  the  geologist,  the  opening  of  the 
tombs  of  the  Pharaohs  and  the  ruins  of  many  ancient  cities, 
and  the  explorations  in  Bible  lands.  Egypt,  the  Sinaitic 
Peninsula,  Palestine,  and  Assyria  have  been  traversed  and 
examined,  and  the  discoveries  have  been  published  to  the 
world.  Hieroglyphics  and  cuneiform  inscriptions  are  no 
longer  unsolved  problems.  Cyprus,  Ephesus,  Troy,  and 
Mycense  have  unfolded  many  rich  treasures  of  archaeology. 
Even  in  Rome  we  have  only  by  recent  investigation  ac- 
quired a  full  knowledge  of  the  palace  of  the  Csesars,  the 
Forum,  the  Coliseum,  and  the  Catacombs.  From  the  many 
researches  in  the  Holy  Land,  Palestine  has  not  improperly 
been  called  by  Renan  "  the  fifth  gospel." 

Kow  an  improvement  in  theology  should  efiect  a  corre- 
sponding improvement  in  the  sermon,  for  it  is  the  exponent 
and  ofispring  of  theology.  Our  preaching  ought  to  be 
clearer  in  statement,  simpler  in  form,  more  positive  in 
assertion,  more  convincing  in  proof,  in  order  to  be  express- 
ive of  our  modern  theology.  It  ought  to  carry  along  with 
it  the  weight  of  authority,  and  all  the  prestige  which  time, 
scholarship,  and  piety  can  give  it. 

Because  of  these  facilities  for  improvement  in  preaching, 
and  many  others  that  might  be  enumerated,  such  as  the  late 
Bible  revision,  rapid  multiplication  of  theological  works, 
etc.,  we  have  a  right  to  demand  a  better  quality  of  sermon; 
and  from  these  indications  of  progress  we  may  predict  a 
continuous  advancement  of  pulpit  eloquence  while  these 
facilities  increase,  without  ever  reaching  the  ideal,  or  ne 
plus  ultra,  of  excellence. 


General  Properties  of  the  Sermon.  137 

§   VI.      GENERAL    PROPERTIES   OF    THE    SERMON.' 

1.  It  must  be  evangelical.  A  sermon  is  evangelical  when 
it  is  steeped  in  the  very  essence  of  saving  truth,  and  pre- 
sented in  a  spirit  conformable  thereto.  On  the  one  hand, 
it  consists  of  gospel  truth,  as  exhibited  in  the  mission  of 
Christ  in  the  salvation  of  the  human  race;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  it  consists  of  Christian  truth  to  be  observed  in 
the  practical  duty  of  piety  and  holiness.  Daniel  Webster 
once  said,  "  Many  ministers  take  their  texts  from  Paul  and 
preach  from  the  newspaper."  This  was  not  the  case  with 
Archbishop  Tillotson;  for  when  asked  to  preach  on  "The 
Times,"  he  said,  "  I  would  rather,  by  far,  discourse  on  eter- 
nity." Sometimes  philosophy  takes  the  place  of  the  gos- 
pel, which  was  what  Cowper  meant  when  he  said, — 

"  How  oft,  when  Paul  has  served  us  with  a  text, 
Has  Epictetus,  Plato,  Tully  preached ! " 

"We  repeat,  the  sermon  must  be  Christian.  It  may  be 
adapted  to  a  Presbyterian,  a  Methodist,  a  Congregational, 
or  a  Lutheran  congregation,  but  it  must  be  gospel  and 
Christian  as  to  substance  and  spirit.  There  are  times  and 
occasions  for  denominational  doctrine,  but  the  staple  of  the 
sermon  should  be  Christian.  As  such  it  must  be  devoted 
largely  to  evangelical  doctrines,  such  as  depravity,  the  con- 
templation of  Christ,  redemption  through  his  blood,  the 
necessity  of  repentance  and  conversion,  justification  by 
faith,  and  sanctification  by  the  Spirit.  It  must  bring  out 
clearly  the  duties  and  privileges  of  Christianity,  and  incul- 
cate the  cultivation  of  a  self-denying  spirit  of  love  and 
goodness  to  all. 

As  to  the  spirit  of  evangelical  preaching,  Paul  expresses 

I  We  distinguish  between  the  properties  and  the  qualities  of  the  sermon.  The  latter 
are  treated  in  the  chapter  on  Sfvle.  Quality  is  essential  to  a  sermon  as  inherent  in  itp 
structure.  Property  is  an  added  quality,  and  can  be  removed  without  destroying  tho 
identity  of  the  sermon. 


138  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

it  chiefly  in  one  word — "love."  "Speaking  the  truth  in 
love."  This  does  not  imply  the  excessive  use  of  endearing 
epithets,  or  the  opposite  of  manliness,  nor  does  it  forbid 
the  utterance  of  painful  truth  with  holy  indignation;  but 
it  requires  a  spirit  of  solemnity,  meekness,  affectionateness, 
and  sympathy,  in  the  application  of  every  gospel  truth. 
"  This  tone  is  especially  to  be  cultivated  when  disagreeable 
truth  has  to  be  spoken,  or  where  a  spirit  of  opposition  has 
to  be  overcome;  for  the  preacher  is  one  who  is  to  win  souls, 
and  there  is  no  way  of  winning  without  love.  The  preacher 
is  the  representative  of  the  great  Father,  whose  great 
power  for  winning  men  back  to  himself  is  love.  'I  drew 
them  with  cords  of  a  man,  with  bands  of  love.'  (Hosea 
xi.  4.)  The  gospel  of  which  he  has  charge  is  the  gospel 
of  infinite  love,"^  and  is  most  evangelical  when  proclaimed 
in  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  the  author  of  evangelical  truth. 
To  give  this  character  to  the  discourse,  the  preacher  needs 
vital  piety  and  the  pure  motive  of  glorifying  God  and  edify- 
ing the  hearer.  The  most  evangelical  truth  uttered  by  pro- 
fane or  ungodly  lips,  no  matter  how  learned  the  speaker  or 
how  eloquent  the  discourse,  would  not  be  an  evangelical  ser- 
mon, for  it  needs  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  form  of  Christian 
thought.  Whatever  relation  the  ordinary  sermon  may 
sustain  to  the  services  of  the  sanctuary,  such  a  sermon, 
drawn  from  the  true  wells  of  salvation,  is  worship  as  truly 
as  is  singing  and  praying,  or  any  other  devotional  exercise 
which  is  calculated  to  draw  souls  heavenward  in  holy 
meditation  and  praise. 

2.  It  must  be  instructim.  "  Moreover,  because  the 
Preacher  was  wise,  he  still  taught  the  people  knowledge." 
(Ecc.  xii.  9.)  This  was  the  example  of  Solomon.  And  Paul 
described  the  preacher  as  one  "  apt  to  teach." 

Instruction  is  a  fundamental  design  of  preaching,  and 

I  Hhiikio,  Fw  the  Work  of  the  Ministry,  p.  104. 


General  Properties  of  the  Sermon.  139 

requires  not  only  that  the  minister  be  a  perpetual  student 
of  Revelation,  but  that  he  acquire  the  facility  of  imparting 
instruction  to  others  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  in 
things  both  new  and  old.  With  such  an  inexhaustible 
wealth  and  depth  of  discovered  and  undiscovered  knowl- 
edge as  is  contained  in  the  Scriptures,  the  pulpit  should 
never  cease  to  be  a  fountain  of  religious  knowledge  for 
both  mind  and  heart.  It  should  not,  however,  become  an 
academical  chair  of  instruction,  dealing  out  dry  technicali- 
ties in  a  scholastic,  formal  manner.  It  should  transmute  all 
kinds  of  theology  into  a  sermon^  which  means,  reducing  it 
into  fragments  and  adapting  it  to  the  wants  of  daily  life.  It 
should  turn  knowledge  into  life.  The  difference  between 
a  lecture-  on  theology  and  a  sermon  is  that  the  former  is 
a  scientific  discussion  for  scholarly  minds,  while  the  latter 
is  spiritual  food  for  the  common  people.  We  must  keep 
the  intellectualism  of  the  lecture  ever  separate  from  the 
instructiveness  of  the  sermon  by  broad  and  distinct  lines 
of  demarkation.  Our  theological  seminaries  may  map  out 
the  field  of  theological  learning,  and  deal  out  general  bib- 
lical knowledge,  so  to  speak,  by  the  wholesale  method; 
but  the  preacher  must  give  out  knowledge  by  retail,  and 
prepare  it  as  a  spiritual  refreshment  for  all  classes  of 
hearers.^ 

With  this  discrimination,  then,  we  remark  that  a  pulpit 
discourse  upon  every  evangelical  topic  must  give  knowledge 
to  the  understanding,  and  nutriment  to  the  soul.  It  must 
give  both  light  and  heat,  must  both  instruct  and  afiect,  con- 
vince and  persuade.  These  two  properties  are  essential  to 
sacred  oratory.  There  may  be  a  great  preponderance  of 
the  one  element  over  tlie  other,  but  neitlier  should  be 
wanting  in  any  perfect  model  of  sermon.     In  physics,  the 

I  He  "breaks  the  bread  of  life  now  into  smaller,  now  into  larger  pieces;  if  need  be,  be 
reduces  it  to  crumbs." — Vinet's  Homiletics,  p.  21. 


140  The  PreacJier  a7id  His  Sermon. 

momentum  of  a  body  is  found  by  multiplying  its  weight 
by  its  velocity;  and  the  same  rule  is  good  in  sacred  dis- 
course. The  one  that  has  the  most  weight  of  matter  and 
most  activity  of  feeling  is  the  greatest  sermon.  It  should 
make  the  hearer  not  only  better,  but  also  wiser,  informing 
him  of  the  real  import  of  the  subject  discussed,  suggesting 
to  his  mind  new  lines  of  thought,  and  telling  him  how  best 
to  improve  his  privileges,  practice  his  duties,  and  obey  the 
teachings  of  God's  Word.  A  discourse  that  consists  of 
nothiuo^  but  exhortation  or  uninstructive  address  will  not 
do  much  to  enlighten  and  convict  the  sinner,  or  to  build  up 
the  faith  of  the  Christian. 

3.  It  must  be  interesting.  It  is  not  enough  that  a  ser- 
mon be  evangelical  and  instructive,  it  must  also  be  inter- 
esting. The  first  property  renders  it  official  and  legal  by 
giving  it  the  divine  signet,  the  second  makes  it  useful  by 
adapting  it  to  human  wants,  and  the  third  makes  it  popu- 
lar by  engaging  the  attention  of  the  hearer.  The  first  two 
contribute  much  to  the  composition  of  the  third,  or  rather 
are  among  its  most  essential  constituents,  for  interest  is  the 
result  of  a  variety  of  properties  and  faculties. 

It  must  possess  adaptation  to  the  audience,  and  earnest- 
ness of  delivery,  and  be  addressed  to  the  various  faculties 
of  the  mind.  Logic  and  feeling  must  be  mingled  together. 
Cold  reasoning  alone,  like  that  of  Butler's  "Analogy," 
would  be  utterly  unbecoming  and  uninteresting  in  a  popu- 
lar sermon;  and  excited  emotions  can  not  long  survive 
unless  sustained  occasionally  by  fresh  logical  thought. 
The  imagination,  as  the  handmaid  of  logic,  may  often  be 
engaged  to  add  freshness,  originality,  and  beauty  to  the 
sermon  by  casting  old  ideas  into  new  forms.  Address  to 
the  conscience,  also,  will  arouse  attention.  Thus,  by  engag- 
ing the  diflerent  faculties  and  feelings  of  the  soul,  we  pro- 
duce a  variety  of  pleasant  sensations,  and  avoid  monotony 
of  feeling,  which  is  so  fatal  to  the  interest  of  a  discourse. 


General  Properties  of  the  Sermon.  141 

The  sermon  in  one  way  or  another  must  get  at  the  act- 
ual thoughts  and  feelings  that  commonly  stir  the  breasts 
of  the  hearer;  it  must  touch  some  vital  part,  and  arrest 
attention.  Let  the  preacher  resolve  never  to  be  dull;  and 
above  all,  let  him  remember  that  if  he  would  interest  oth- 
ers he  must  first  interest  himself.  He  must  originate  the 
spirit  and  life  of  his  discourse  himself.  When  once  cre- 
ated in  his  own  soul,  it  will  spontaneously  disseminate 
itself  through  the  audience.  Interest  begets  interest,  as 
coldness  begets  coldness.  To  give  vividness  and  freshness 
to  his  discourse,  let  him  spurn  the  rechauffe  of  other  men's 
thoughts;  let  him  keep  out  of  ruts,  pass  everything  through 
the  alembic  of  his  own  mind,  and  fuse  it  into  freshness. 
If  he  can  not  reanimate  an  old  sermon  with  the  original  or 
with  increased  interest,  let  him  cast  it  aside  as  so  much 
dregs.  !N'one  but  such  thoughts  and  feelings  as  are  alive 
in  the  speaker's  mind  and  spring  up  fresh  like  a  sparkling 
fountain  can  interest  the  hearer. 

4.  It  must  be  edifying.  Preaching  is  edifying  only  so 
far  as  it  accomplishes  its  supreme  object,  which  is  not  evan- 
gelical orthodoxy,  efficient  instruction,  or  glowing  interest, 
but  the  glorifying  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  men.  The 
first  three  properties  are  important,  but  the  last  is  essen- 
tial. To  lack  any  of  the  former  would  be  a  defect,  but  the 
absence  of  the  latter  would  be  a  total  failure.  "  The  ser- 
mon that  does  good  is  a  good  sermon,"  was  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke's  maxim.  It  may  be  imperfect  in  some  of  its  impor- 
tant scientific  elements;  nevertheless,  if  with  these  faults 
it  is  the  means  of  making  a  man  better,  it  is  a  success- 
ful sermon.  Louis  XIY.  once  said,  "When  I  go  away 
after  hearing  some  of  the  court-preachers,  I  say.  What  a 
wonderful  preacher  he  is!  What  splendid  powers  of  elo- 
quence he  has!  What  a  great  man  he  is!  But  when  I  go 
away  from  hearing  Eather  Massillon,  I  leave  saying.  What 


142  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

a  poor  sinner  I  am!  How  wicked  I  am! "  A  sermon  is  to 
be  praised  not  for  the  noise  it  makes,  the  entertainment  it 
aftbrds,  but  for  the  good  it  does ;  and  however  orthodox, 
instructive,  eloquent,  learned,  and  flowery  it  may  be,  if  it 
does  not  lift  the  hearer  nearer  to  God  it  is  scarcely  worth 
the  name  of  a  sermon. 

The  true  object  of  preaching  is  stated  by  Paul,  in  Ephe- 
sians  iv.  12,  13.  It  is  to  build  up  the  soul  in  righteousness 
and  true  holiness.  The  immediate  aim  of  preaching  ia 
soul-enlightenment  and  soul-conversion;  but  the  ultimate 
object  of  all  true  preaching  is  soul-edification — the  forma- 
tion of  a  true  manhood  in  Christ. 

In  order  to  render  each  sermon  edifying,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  a  definite  aim  in  view,  and  to  bend  all  eflforts  to 
its  accomplishment.  "As  you  sit  down  to  prepare  your 
discourse,  let  your  question  be,  "What  is  my  purpose  in 
this  sermon?  and  do  not  move  a  step  until  you  have 
shaped  out  before  your  mind  a  definite  answer  to  that 
inquiry.  *  *  *  *  The  way  to  walk  in  a  straight  line  over  a 
trackless  field,  is  to  fix  the  eye,  and  keep  it  fixed,  on  some 
object  that  is  stationary  and  sufficiently  elevated,  and  then 
to  move  towards  that."^  In  the  Yale  lectureship  John  Hall, 
also,  says,  "Direct  your  arrows  at  objects  without  being 
personal;  come  near  your  hearers.  Letters  dropped  into 
the  post-office  without  address  go  to  the  dead-letter  office, 
and  are  of  no  use  to  anybody."  Having  fixed  your  gazo 
upon  some  object,  preach  with  the  expectation  of  seeing 
its  fruits,  and  resolve  not  to  receive  as  a  commendation  of 
your  efforts  any  favorable  opinion  of  the  hearers,  except 
such  as  report  real  spiritual  benefit  received  from  your 
sermon. 

I  W.  M.  Taylor,  in  role  Lectures,  p.  111. 


Lengih  of  the  Sermon.  143 

§    VII.      LENGTH    OF   THE    SERMON. 

As  to  the  length  of  the  sermon,  no  fixed  rule  can  be 
given.  In  the  early  church  the  Latins  did  not  usually 
occupy  more  than  half  an  hour, — often  not  more  than  ten 
minutes.  The  Greek  fathers  were,  however,  always  more 
lengthy.^  St.  Ambrose  usually  preached  about  half  an 
hour.  Chrysostom's  sermon  on  Lazarus  must  have  occu- 
pied nearly  an  hour  in  delivery.  William  Jay  said,  "I  never 
surpassed  forty -five  minutes,  at  most'''  Mullois  says  that 
seven  minutes  are  long  enough  for  a  sermon  in  France, 
and  remarks,  "  Believe  me,  and  I  speak  from  experience, 
the  more  you  say  the  less  will  the  hearers  retain ;  the  less 
you  say  the  more  will  they  profit."  This,  of  course,  is  the 
opinion  of  a  French  author  on  homiletics.  In  ritualistic 
churches  the  sermons  are  usually  very  short. 

The  Puritans,  on  communion  occasions,  often  preached 
sermons  of  no  less  than  two  hours  in  length.  Paul  preached 
at  Troas  all  night,  with  only  a  short  intermission  to  restore 
a  dead  man  to  life  and  to  break  bread.  Cecil  advises  young 
preachers  to  preach  only  thirty  minutes  if  they  read  their 
sermons,  and  not  to  exceed  forty  minutes  if  they  do  not.^ 

It  would  be  unwise  to  limit  the  discussion  in  every  ser- 
mon to  a  certain  number  of  minutes,  for  there  are  occasions 

1  Cf.  Moule's  Oratory,  p.  56. 

2  "Sermons  in  early  times  seem  to  have  been  comparatively  short.  Some  of  these 
extant  by  the  Latin  fathers  would  not  occupy,  as  they  stand,  more  than  ten  minutes,  or 
quarter  of  an  hour;  many  of  Bede's  consist  only  of  a  very  few  lines.  Therefore,  we  are  not 
safe  in  resting  upon  such  data — as  these  are  evidently  short-hand  notes.  Long  sermons 
were  the  product  of  the  post-reformation,  especially  of  Puritan  times.  Yet  some  of  the 
earlier  divines  were  lengthy.  Bishop  Aleock  preached  at  St.  Mary's,  Cambridge,  'a  good 
and  pleasant  sermon,'  which  lasted  from  one  o'clock  to  half-past  three.  Sometimes  the 
audiences  in  olden  times,  in  England,  scraped  their  feet,  and  thus  compelled  th« 
preacher  to  desist.  «■>:•■!'<'  Bishop  Alderson,  however,  was  strongly  opposed  to  lonj^ 
sermons;  when  once  asked  his  opinion  as  to  the  proper  lengih  of  a  discourse,  he  an- 
swered, '  Twenty  minutes,  with  a  leaning  to  the  side  of  mercy.'  Isaac  Barrow's  Spital 
aermon  was  three  hours  and  a  half  long.  Edward  Irving,  in  later  days,  also  preached  a 
sermon  of  three  hours  and  a  half  in  length  for  the  London  Missionary  Society,  in  Tot- 
tenham Court  Road  Chapel.  He  paused  thrice,  and  the  devout  and  patient  congregation 
sang  hymns  in  the  interval,  but  they  nevei  forgave  him  that  sermon."  —  £tacA;ioood'« 
Magazine,  February,  1869,  quoted  by  Hoppin. 


144  '^^^^  Pi'eacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

and  subjects  that  require  an  extended  discourse,  and  can 
be  made  very  interesting  for  one  hour,  while  other  topics 
and  times  would  not  warrant  an  interesting  attention  for 
more  than  twenty  or  thirty  minutes.  The  apparent  length 
of  a  sermon  depends  much  on  the  manner  of  its  treatment. 
A  long  discourse  full  of  interesting  thought  may  seem 
short,  and  a  dull  one,  however  short,  may  seem  long. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  in  this  age  of  rapid 
thought  and  short  methods  the  sermon  should  be  shorter 
than  formerly.  "  Audiences  a  century  ago  would  patiently 
listen  to  discourses  of  two  hours  in  length,  and  would  fol- 
low the  sermonizer  through  a  series  of  divisions  and  subdi- 
visions that  would  be  intolerable  to  a  modern  hearer.  *  *  * 
Mental  operations  are  on  straight  lines,  like  the  railroad 
and  telegraph,  and  are  far  more  rapid  than  they  once  were. 
The  public  audience  now  craves  a  short  method,  a  distinct, 
sharp  statement,  and  a  rapid  and  accelerating  movement, 
upon  the  part  of  its  teachers."^  Lament  thinks  that  noth- 
ing can  justify  a  long  sermon.  If  it  be  a  good  one  it  need 
not  be  long,  and  if  it  be  a  bad  one  it  ought  not  to  be 
long.  Luther  would  not  have  preachers  torment  their 
hearers  with  long  and  tedious  preaching;  and  Whitefield 
thinks  that  no  one  will  be  converted  after  the  first  half 
hour.  In  our  day  of  multiplied  sermons  it  certainly  would 
be  better  to  make  a  sermon  intensive  rather  than  extensive, 
and  to  measure  its  worth  by  its  depth  rather  than  by  ita 
length.  Its  average  length  will  vary  from  thirty  minutes 
to  forty -five,  sometimes  more,  sometimes  less;  for  its  time 
will  vary  with  the  grandeur  of  the  theme  and  the  circum- 
stances of  time,  place,  and  people.  "As  a  general  rule, 
short  sermo7is,  short  sermons.  One  subject,  one  thought, 
one  duty,  fully  handled,  fully  illustrated,  fully  brought 
home  to  the  conscience  and  heart,  is  enough  for  one  ser- 

1  Shedd's  Homileiica  arid  Pastoral  Theology,  pp.  55,  56. 


Repeating  Sermons.  145 

mon;  and,  would  that  young  ministers,  as  well  as  older 
ones,  could  have  the  sagacity,  humility,  and  independence, 
to  see  and  follow  this  rule ! "  ^ 

§   Vni.      REPEATING   SERMONS. 

"We  can  see  no  reason  for  never  using  a  good  sermon 
more  than  once.  The  lecturer  on  the  platform  delivers  the 
same  lecture  for  a  number  of  years.  Phillips,  Gough,  and 
Joseph  Cook  have  lectures  which  they  have  delivered  re- 
peatedly. The  politician  goes  through  the  entire  campaign, 
often  repeating  the  same  speech  every  day.  The  songs  of 
the  sanctuary  are  none  the  less  sweet  because  they  have 
been  sung  several  times.  If  repetition  is  permitted  to  the 
medical,  legal,  and  theological  lecturer  for  each  succeeding 
class,  why  may  not  the  preacher  repeat  a  religious  dis- 
course which  has  commanded  his  best  efforts  and  been 
preached  to  the  great  edification  of  the  people?  Chalmers 
sometimes  delivered  the  same  sermon  in  the  afternoon  that 
Ite  preached  in  the  morning.  "Whitefield  repeated  one  of 
his  discourses  forty  times,  and  said  that  he  never  felt  per- 
fect master  of  a  sermon  until  he  had  preached  it  the  one 
hundredth  time.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  says,  "  Old  lect- 
ures are  a  man's  best,  commonly ;  they  improve  by  age.  *  * 
*  *  One  learns  to  make  the  most  of  their  strong  points 
and  to  carry  off  their  weak  ones."^  A  sermon  that  has 
been  carefully  prepared,^  and  continues  to  glow  in  the 
preacher's  mind  with  its  original  force,  will  not  only  bear 
a  second  and  third  hearing,  but  ought  to  improve  with 
every  repetition. 

Murphy  gives  the  following  rules  as  to  when  sermons  may 
be  repeated:    "A  sermon  may  be  repeated  after  some  time 

1  Hoppin's  Ogice  and  Work  of  the  Christian  Ministry,  p.  65. 
a  Autoarat  of  the  Breakfast  Table. 
3  Of.  Part  in.,  Chapter  III.,  p.  470. 
10 


\/\6  The  Preacher  and  His  Sernio?i. 

when  it  has  been  prepared  for  a  class  of  persons  who  were 
not  present  at  its  first  delivery;  when  it  was  carefully  pre- 
pared, but,  the  weather  beiug  unfavorable,  there  were  at 
first  but  few  present;  when  unexpected  calls  upon  the 
minister's  time  render  a  new  preparation  utterly  impossi- 
ble; when,  beiug  very  carefully  prepared,  new  circumstan- 
ces in  the  congregation  promise  great  good  from  its  repe- 
tition; when  judicious  persons  in  the  church  earnestly 
request  that  it  should  be  preached  again ;  "*  to  which  we 
may  add  two  other  rules,  viz.:  when  pastors  exchange 
pulpits  with  each  other;  when  they  are  appointed  by  con- 
ference to  a  new  charge. 

Let  us,  however,  caution  the  young  minister  never  to 
repeat  a  sermon  through  indolence,  with  no  other  motive 
in  view  than  to  avoid  the  labor  of  preparing  a  new  one. 
A  progressive  preacher  will  not  depend  on  his  stock  of  old 
sermons,  but  will  continually  compose  new  and  better  ones, 
as  his  mind  develops  by  study  and  experience,  and  will 
never  use  the  fruit  of  his  past  labor  unless  he  can  improve 
it,  or  render  it  a  second  time  with  great  profit  to  himself 
and  his  hearers. 

The  following  plea  for  not  destroying  old  sermons,  from 
"a  friend  of  old  sermons"  whose  name  is  unknown,  we 
give  entire: 

Is  it  well  to  burn  old  sermons?  This  question  has  been  largely  dis- 
cussed recently,  and  opinion  is  greatly  divided  upon  it.  1  have  seen 
nothing  more  to  the  point  on  the  negative  side  than  the  following  story, 
which  I  quote  in  substance  from  one  of  my  exchanges: 

Near  the  buildings  of  a  farm  lay  a  pile  of  wood.  Some  of  it  was 
decaying,  but  there  were  many  sound  sticks  in  it.  They  had  already 
served  a  purpose,  and  were  awaiting  another  use.  One  day  its  owner 
said  to  a  workman:  "Here,  Pompey,  I  want  you  to  burn  up  this  pile 
of  wood.''  "Burn  up  dat  pile  of  wood,  Massal"  echoed  the  colored 
man  in  astonishment.    "Dar  lots  of  good  wood  in  dar.     It'll  be  of  sarv- 

I  Pastoral  Theology,  pp.  221,  'I'l'l. 


Repeati7ig  Sermans.  147 

ice  some  day  or  'nodher.  If  yer  burn  it  all  up,  den  when  yer  want  a 
stick  it  won't  be  dar."  "No  matter,"  was  the  reply,  "burn  it  all.  Thia 
is  old  and  has  been  used  once.  We  can  get  new  and  strong  sticks  from 
the  woods;  new  wood  is  better  than  old  any  time.  Burn  up  every  stick," 
said  the  farmer;  "a  pile  of  wood  around  makes  me  lazy."  The  colored 
man  obeyed,  muttering  as  he  did  so,  "  Massa's  a  good  man,  but  some- 
fin's  de  matter  wid  him  once  in  awhile.  'Tain't  lazy,  dough.  Wood-pile 
around  make  a  man  lazy  !  Pshaw  I  Not  if  he  want  to  work.  If  he  don't 
want  to  work,  you  can't  make  him  by  burnin'  his  wood-pile." 

Shortly  after  the  pile  was  burned,  a  neighbor's  heavily-loaded  wagon 
became  mired  in  the  road  near  the  farmer's  house.  The  teamster 
shouted  for  help,  and  asked  them  to  bring  a  rail  from  the  wood-pile. 
■"No  rails  there,"  replied  the  farmer.  "Pile  is  all  burned;  but  I'll  go  to 
the  woods  and  cut  a  stick."  While  the  farmer  was  gone  Pompey  ap- 
peared and  told  the  story  of  the  burning  of  the  wood-pile.  "Lazy!" 
ejaculated  the  man.  "Crazy,  you  mean.  If  he  had  left  it,  see  how  he 
might  have  helped  me  now!"  The  teamster  and  Pompey  had  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  wagon  out  just  as  the  farmer  was  coming  from  the 
woods  with  a  stick. 

There  were  other  occasions  when  he  needed  aid  from  the  wood-pile. 
One  day,  when  asked  why  he  burned  the  pile,  he  said,  "  It  seemed 
heroic."  "  Heroic!"  said  the  inquirer.  "Not  a  bit  of  heroism  in  that. 
To  have  left  it  standing,  and  then  gone  by  it  to  get  your  timber  from 
the  woods,  might  have  been  heroic;  but  your  act  proves  you  to  be 
something  else  than  heroic,  and  something  less." 

Some  sermons  had  better  be  burned.  It  would  have  been  well  if 
they  had  never  been  written  ;  but  sermons  which  are  the  result  of  years 
of  thought  —  sermons  which  were  prepared  under  a  special  inspiration, 
and  which  have  been  consecrated  by  the  Holy  Ghost  by  usefulness, 
ought  not  to  be  burned,  but  sacredly  preserved  and  used  when  circum- 
stances indicate  their  adaptation  to  the  people.  The  greatest  and  most 
useful  ministers  of  Cliristendom  have  kept  and  repeated  their  sermons. 

It  is  urged  that  a  stock  of  sermons  promotes  laziness;  but  the  want 
of  it  may  also.  Some  in  a  few  hours  prepare  what,  for  charity's  sake, 
maybe  called  a  sermon.  This  laziness  is  not  hidden  by  their  empty 
fluency.  Talk  of  heroism  in  burning  sermons!  It  is  much  more  like 
cowardice.  If  a  man's  conscience  and  will  are  not  strong  enough  to 
keep  him  to  his  duty  in  the  presence  of  a  pile  of  sermons,  he  will  fail  in 
greater  trials. 


148  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

§    IX.      SERIES    OF    SERMONS. 

A  succession  of  sermons  on  one  general  subject  is  some- 
times desirable, — first,  when  a  theme  is  too  fertile  or  com- 
prehensive to  be  clearly  and  fairly  treated  in  the  time 
usually  allotted  for  one  sermon;  second,  when  one  wishes 
to  take  time  to  fully  investigate  an  important  subject. 

The  series  may  consist  of  one  sermon  upon  each  of  the 
various  phases  or  divisions  of  a  subject.  The  subject  may 
be  such  as  the  Old  Testament  Christology,  biblical  em- 
blems of  Christ,  Messianic  psalms^  biblical  descriptions  of 
heaven  and  hell,  revivals  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  bibli- 
cal doctrine  of  the  millennium,  or  the  representative  char- 
acters of  the  Old  and  iTew  Testaments;  or,  it  may  consist 
of  consecutive  passages  of  scripture  relating  to  one  subject, 
8uch  as  the  ten  commandments,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the 
beatitudes,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  a  parable,  or  a  mira- 
cle. The  various  phases  or  divisions,  upon  each  of  which 
a  sermon  is  to  be  constructed,  may  be  selected  from  differ- 
ent portions  of  the  Scriptures  which  relate  to  the  theme  in 
hand. 

II"  a  series  is  lengthy,  extending  over  a  course  of  six,  ten, 
or  more  sermons,  it  is  often  better  to  preach  one  of  the 
sermons  every  week  or  fortnight  than  to  deliver  them  con- 
secutively. By  interspersing  the  serial  with  an  occasional 
discourse  on  another  subject,  a  congregation's  relish  for 
variety  will  be  satisfied. 

§   X.      ONE    OR   TWO    SERMONS   A   SABBATH? 

This  question,  of  course,  has  reference  to  stations  where 
the  custom  prevails  of  preaching  two  sermons  each  Lord's- 
day  to  the  same  congregation.  In  favor  of  such  a  custom 
it  may  be  said  that  it  doubtless  prevailed  in  the  primitive 
church,  and  is  founded  on  the  example  of  tlie  apostles. 
Basil  commonly  preached  twice  on  the  Christian  Sabbath. 


One  or  Two  Sermons  a  Sabbath?  149 

Augustine  in  his  afternoon  sermon  often  alludes  to  his 
morning  discourse;  and  Chrysostom  entitles  one  of  his 
homilies,  "An  Exhortation  to  those  who  are  Ashamed  to 
Come  to  Sermon  after  Dinner."  It  may  also  be  said  in 
favor  of  the  double-sermon  system,  that  it  affords  an 
opportunity  for  all  classes  to  hear  at  least  one  sermon  a 
week.  Servants,  the  aged,  and  the  afflicted,  can  not  all 
attend  service  at  the  same  stated  hour  during  the  day  or 
night.  Hence,  several  preaching-services  a  day  may  be  so 
arranged  as  to  accommodate  the  greatest  number  of  hear- 
ers, and  secure  the  attention  of  others  who  might  be  idle 
or  unworthily  engaged  if  one  sermon  were  suspended. 

In  favor  of  one  sermon  a  Sabbath  to  the  same  congrega- 
tion, much,  lately,  has  been  said  and  written.  To  change  a 
custom  as  old  and  universal  as  that  of  preaching  twice 
each  Sabbath,  would  require  a  change  of  popular  sentiment 
upon  the  question,  rather  than  of  logical  argument  in  its 
favor;  and  its  advocate  must  run  the  gauntlet  of  criti- 
cism. At  the  time  when  the  double-sermon  system  was 
originated,  it  may  have  been  highly  expedient  as  the  prin- 
cipal means  of  indoctrinating  the  people  in  the  principles 
of  Christianity;  but  to-day,  under  widely  different  condi- 
tions, the  multiplication  of  religious  books,  the  publication 
of  numerous  sermons,  the  increase  of  efficient  teachers, 
the  introduction  of  the  prayer-meeting,  class-meeting,  and 
Sunday-school,  supersede,  to  a  great  extent,  the  necessity 
of  so  much  preaching.  There  may  be  circumstances  in 
certain  congregations  that  require  two  sermons  a  week, 
but  cceteris  paribus  one  sermon  will  be  an  advantage. 

1.  To  the  Preacher.  It  will  allow  him  more  time  for 
general  study,  and  remove  a  barrier  to  a  young  minister's 
improvement.  To  discipline  the  mind  in  preaching-ability 
requires  more  than  the  exercise  of  composing  sermons. 
There  must  be  time  for  general  reading,  study,  and  reflec- 


150  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermo7i, 

tion.  To  convince  men  of  sin,  righteousness,  and  a  judg- 
ment to  come,  to  prove  the  doctrines  of  Cliristianity  as  a 
system,  to  impress  the  tremendous  and  engaging  truths  of 
religion  upon  men,  requires  that  the  preacher  compasa 
the  earth  and  heavens,  yea,  scour  the  universe,  for  argu- 
ments. He  is  to  compel  into  his  service,  first,  revelation; 
then,  nature,  art,  philosophy,  poetry,  logic,  illustration, 
times,  men,  realities,  and  fancies, —  anything  and  every- 
thing within  the  range  of  gospel  propriety,  to  woo  and 
win  the  sinner  from  ruin  to  righteousness.  Every  minister 
needs,  at  least,  three  hours  each  day  for  the  study  of  these 
subjects.  If  he  neglects  this  work  of  acquiring  fresh 
knowledge  he  will  soon  exhaust  his  mental  resources,  or 
become  threadbare  and  uninteresting.  He  must  be  a 
feeder,  else  a  dwarf.  Where  there  is  an  outlet  there  must 
also  be  an  inlet,  or  the  stream  will  soon  become  shallow  or 
entirely  dried  up.  You  can  take  no  more  out  of  an  acre 
than  you  put  into  it,  is  a  rule  of  agriculture  and  of  liter- 
ary professions.  Few  ministers  will  prepare  two  good 
sermons  each  week,  besides  attending  to  all  their  other 
pastoral  and  official  duties,  and  then  have  much  time  left 
for  general  improvement.  Two  sermons  a  Sabbath,  together 
with  one  or  two  Sabbath-school  sessions,  and  perhaps  a 
Bible-service  or  other  religious  meeting  thrown  in  between, 
not  only  inflict  an  injustice  on  ministers,  by  necessitating, 
for  the  due  discharge  of  all  their  duties,  an  amount  of 
preparation  which  is  oppressive,  but  also  ati'ect  disadvan- 
tageously  the  quality  of  pulpit  services,  and  consequently 
exert  reflexly  a  deteriorating  influence  on  the  spiritual  life 
of  the  church. 

Another  advantage,  to  the  preacher,  of  the  one-sermon 
system  is  that  it  enables  him  to  prepare  more  fully  for  the 
pulpit.  This  benefit  will  accrue  naturally  from  the  general 
improvement  in  preaching  which  the  system  afibrds,  but 


07ie  or   Two  Sermons  a  Sabbath?  151 

especially  from  the  double  amount  of  time  allowed  for  tlie 
preparation  of  each  discourse.  The  weekly  time  usually 
allotted  to  sermon-preparation  can  be  best  utilized  by 
devoting  it  to  the  study  of  one  theme.  It  is  better  for 
the  minister  to  concentrate  his  thoughts  into  one  im- 
pressive sermon  than  to  spread  them  over  two,  when  the 
last,  perhaps,  is  only  half- remembered  and  imperfectly 
digested  and  improved.  One  good  sermon  a  week,  driven 
home  to  the  consciences  of  men,  will  do  more  good  than 
half  a  dozen  ordinary  ones  hastily  prepared  under  the 
pressure  of  too  much  work.  "What  we  need  to-day  is  not 
less  jpreaching,  but  a  decrease  in  its  quantity,  and  an  in- 
crease in  its  quality;  condensation  and  pungency  rather 
than  expansion  and  dullness.  Our  motto  should  be,  not 
how  much,  but  how  well.  A  dollar  in  gold  is  as  much 
money  as  a  dollar  in  copper.  The  only  difterence  consists 
in  the  relative  proportion  of  their  bulk.  The  one-sermon 
regime  would  not  produce  less  preaching,  but  sermons  of 
greater  value  and  efficiency. 

2.  To  the  Worshiping  Congregation.  One  reason  why  so 
many  hearers  become  restless  under  a  sermon  of  ordinary 
length,  and  appreciate  so  little  of  what  is  really  good,  is 
because  they  must  listen  to  too  much  preaching.  The 
minister  pours  into  their  minds  such  frequent  and  abundant 
spiritual  refreshments  that  they  finally  become  overcharged 
and  even  disgusted  with  the  good  feast,  and  so  fail  to 
appreciate  or  profit  by  the  food,  on  account  of  a  debilitated 
digestion,  caused  by  overfeeding.  Would  not  a  smaller 
quantity,  but  more  substantial  kind,  of  preaching  improve 
the  spiritual  health  of  our  congregations?  Our  religion, 
perhaps,  is  made  to  consist  too  much  in  the  duty  of 
oecoming  "hearers  of  the  word,"  rather  than  "doers;" 
and  hence  we  hear  many  defend  their  morality  or  religion 
on  the  plea  that  they  "go  to  church."     Vinet,  nearly  half 


152  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

a  century  ago,  said  what  is  more  applicable  in  oui-  time 
than  it  was  when  it  was  penned.  In  speaking  of  preach- 
ing he  says,  "It  is  almost  everything  with  us.  *  *  *  * 
The  temple  is  an  auditory.  It  seems  to  have  no  other 
purpose  than  to  gather  hearers  around  a  man  who  speaks 
to  them.  Thus  we  say  of  the  Catholic,  he  goes  to  mass;  of 
the  Protestant,  he  goes  to  sermon.  "We  thus  unconsciously 
give  perhaps  too  exclusive  predominance  to  preaching  in 
Protestant  worship."^  Christian  people  need  to  do  more 
than  to  listen  to  sermons.  Unless  the  sermon  produces 
actual  fruit  in  the  life  and  actions  of  the  hearer,  it  be- 
comes a  mere  form,  and  the  congregation  a  mass  of  passive 
hearers. 

People  now  need  spiritual  exercise  more  than  religious 
instruction.  Modern  Christianity  should  be  active,  rather 
than  receptive.  To  meet  this  condition  we  need  more  relig- 
ious services  in  which  the  people  can  participate,  —  such 
as  prayer,  class,  praise,  or  Bible  meetings, — and  an  im- 
proved order  instead  of  an  increased  number  of  sermons. 
Let  the  hour  of  the  second  preaching-service  be  devoted  to 
such  a  general  meeting,  or  to  the  cultivation  of  religious 
knowledge  and  piety  in  the  home  circle,  or  to  some  char- 
itable or  missionary  work  among  the  poor  and  degraded 
in  the  neighborhood.  This  kind  of  Christian  activity,  as 
the  sequel  of  more  earnest,  vigorous  preaching,  would 
undoubtedly  conduce  to  a  more  genuine  and  aggressive 
Christianity;  while  too  much  common-place  preaching,  to 
the  exclusion  of  earnest  Christian  work,  has  put  to  sleep 
many  a  live  church  and  produced  dead  and  formal  profess- 
ors of  religion. 

X  Homiletict,  pp.  21,  22. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE  TEXT  OF  THE  SERMON. 

Objections  to  the  Use  of  Texts— Reasons  for  Selecting  a  Text  —  From 
What  Portion  of  the  Bible  should  the  Text  be  Selected  ?  — How  to 
Select  a  Text  — When  to  Choose  a  Text  —  A  Systematic  Record  of 
Texts  from  which  to  Select  — Interpretation  of  the  Text — How  to 
Obtain  a  Proper  Theme  from  the  Text. 

The  formal  quoting  of  a  passage  of  scripture  at  the 
beginning  of  a  religious  discourse  is,  as  Palmer  has  said,  a 
mere  matter  of  ecclesiastical  usage.^  But  no  one  should 
question  the  propriety  of  the  old,  established  custom  of 
using  passages  of  scripture  as  the  basis  of  sacred  discourse 
— a  custom  as  old  as  the  Bible  itself.  The  first  inspired 
preachers — Enoch,  ISToah,  and  Moses, — spoke  directly  from 
Jehovah.  Our  Savior  himself,  in  the  synagogue  of  Naza- 
reth, founded  his  first  sermon  on  a  passage  from  the 
Prophet  Isaiah,  Ixi.  1,  2.^  Peter,  soon  after  the  ascen- 
sion, preached  a  discourse  from  Psalms  cix.  8;^  and  again, 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  he  preached  from  Joel  ii.  28-32.* 
The  early  Christian  fathers,  having  learned  it,  no  doubt, 
from  their  predecessors,  usually  quoted  texts  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sermon,  though  they  seldom  adapted  their 
themes  to  them.  "While  the  general  historical  use  of 
texts,  or  the  founding  of  the  sermon  directly  upon  the 
word  of  God,  is  to  be  traced  back  to  the  earliest  ages, 
the    use   of  the   single   brief  text   in   the   more   confined 

1  Palmer's  Evangelische  HomiLehk,  p.  315. 

2  See  Luke  iv.  16-29. 

3  See  Acts  i.  15.,  et  seq. 
See  Acts  ii.  14-36. 

153 


154  ^^^^  FreacJicr  mid  1 1  is  Ser7no?i. 

manner  of  our  times,  as  standing  for  the  particular  themo 
of  the  discourse,  is  ascribed  to  the  Presbyter  Musaeus  of 
Marseilles,  in  the  fifth  century."^  It  was  during  the  decline 
and  corruption  of  the  church  in  the  Middle  Ages,  that 
quotations  from  uninspired  literature,  such  as  the  dia- 
lectics of  Aristotle,  were  often  substituted  for  scriptural 
themes.  The  medieval  preachers  frequently  discoursed 
without  texts,  while  the  Venerable  Bede,  and  Peter  of 
Celiac,  selected  their  texts  from  Latin  hymns.  Protestant 
divines  of  that  age,  on  some  occasions,  took  texts  from  the 
catechisms.^  However,  the  learned  Keckermann^  tells  us 
that  the  evangelical  churches  of  his  time  preferred  the 
taking  of  scripture  texts."* 

To  take  passages  from  uninspired  authors  as  texts,  no 
matter  how  religious  the  sentiment,  would  be  considered  a 
desecration  of  the  divine  office  of  the  ministry,  which  must 
base  all  its  teachings  upon  the  inspired,  infallible  word. 
"Preach  the  word,"  was  Paul's  advice  to  his  spiritual  son 
Timothy. 

The  root-origin  of  the  word  text"^  implies  that  it  is  some- 
thing given  to  us,  a  fabric  prepared,  which  we  are  to  un- 
ravel, or  draw  out  into  a  line  of  discourse.  The  Bible  is 
the  preacher's  text -book,  woven  by  divine  inspiration, 
and  handed  down  from  heaven  as  the  fojis  et  origo  of 
all  preaching;  and  the  "gospel  net"  (Matt.  xiii.  47.)  be- 
comes available  to  him  only  so  far  as  used  according  to 

1  Hoppin's  Bomiletics,  p.  289. 

2  See  J.  M.  Neale's  Medieval  Preachers  and  Preaching,  xliii.  54.  Riddle,  in  his  CkrisHan 
Antiquities,  p.  448,  describes  a  religious  service  in  which  the  text  for  the  sermon  was  from 
Theodore  Parker. 

3  liheiorica  Ecclesiastieae,  Chapter  I. 

4  Voltaire's  familiar  objection  to  the  custom  of  using  scripture  texts  has,  no  donbt, 
ariaon  from  the  abuse,  rather  than  from  the  proper  use,  of  texts.  He  3ays,  "It  were  to  be 
wished  that  Rourdaloue,  in  banishing  from  the  pulpit  the  bad  taste  which  disgraced  it^ 
had  also  banished  the  custom  of  preaching  on  a  text.  Indeed,  to  speak  long  on  a  quota 
tion  of  a  line  or  two,  to  exhaust  one's  self  in  subjecting  a  whole  discourse  to  the  control 
of  this  line,  seems  a  trifling  labor,  little  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  the  ministry.  The  text 
becomes  a  sort  of  motto,  or  rather  enigma,  which  the  discourse  develops." 

5  Tcxtum  is  something  woven — a  web. 


Objectio7is  to  the   Use  of  Texts,  155 

the  direction  of  the  Master,  who  said,  "Preach  the  gospel." 
Hence  we  should  select  a  text  only  from  the  received  canon 
of  inspiration.  '•'  If  any  man  speak,  let  him  speak  as  the 
oracles  of  God."^ 

§    I.      OBJECTIONS   TO    THE    USE    OF    TEXTS. 

There  are  still  some  preachers  and  authors  of  homiletics 
who  speak  disparagingly  of  the  use  of  texts  as  the  themes 
of  sermons,  for  the  following  reasons : 

1.  They  contract  the  range  of  discourse,  confining  one 
to  too  small  a  circle  of  ideas.  "  Experience  also  is  a 
book,"  says  Viuet;  "experience  also  furnishes  texts." 

To  this  objection  it  may  be  replied  that  a  contracted 
theme  is  better  than  an  expanded  one.  It  tends  to  thorough- 
ness and  depth  of  discussion,  rather  than  to  a  rambling 
over  the  surface  of  an  extended  field.  Every  passage  suited 
for  pulpit  discourse,  however  brief,  is  an  exhaustless  well 
of  thought  to  him  who  will  fathom  its  depth.  Besides, 
the  range  of  scripture-subjects  is  as  wide  as  the  range  of 
human  experience,  and  will  furnish  something  for  every 
individual  case. 

2.  They  are  not  adapted  to  topical  discourse,  because 
not  every  text  possesses  perfect  unity. 

But,  however  numerous  the  distinctive  members  of  a 
text,  and  however  capable  of  yielding  a  variety  of  difi'er- 
ent  subjects,  there  is  always  a  main  idea  underlying  the 
text  which  forms  the  unifying  center  of  a  topical  sermon. 
Even  in  textual  discussions,  the  several  text-divisions  must 
all  fall  under  one  general  head. 

3.  The  use  of  texts  stift'ens  the  routine  of  the  pulpit. 
Kot  more  than  seed  will  introduce  formalit}^  in  vegeta- 
tion.    Texts  are  the  necessary  seed-thoughts  that  yield  an 

I  Revised  Version  renders  this  passage,  '*  If  any  man  speakefh,  speaking  as  it  were  ora- 
cles of  God  "  (I.  Peter  iv.  11). 


156  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

endless  variety  of  fresh  material.  Instead  of  losing  inter- 
est, every  hearer  will  especially  give  close  attention  to  the 
announcement  of  the  text.  It  is  upon  this  that  everything 
centers.  The  custom  of  employing  a  text  as  the  subject 
of  a  sermon  is  not  peculiar  to  preaching;  it  is,  in  fact, 
characteristic  of  all  public  speaking.  The  Greek  and 
Roman  orators  often  spoke  upon  some  definite  proposition. 
Demosthenes  generally  spoke  upon  some  indictment  or 
specific  statement;  and  in  our  day,  legislative  and  forensic 
addresses  are  based  upon  resolutions,  motions,  bills,  or 
legal  forms  of  indictment.  When  Daniel  Webster  com- 
menced his  famous  reply  to  Hayne,  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  he  said,  "  Mr.  President,  I  call  for  the  reading  of 
the  resolution  before  the  Senate."  Such  direction  of  speech 
to  some  particular  point  or  formal  specification  is  equiva- 
lent to  the  use  of  a  text  of  scripture  in  preaching. 

§  n.   REASONS  FOR  SELECTING  A  TEXT. 

1.  Because  we  thereby  recognize  and  honor  the  au- 
thority of  the  divine  Word.  This  gives  weight  and  author- 
ity to  our  words  and  arguments,  and  at  once  demands  the 
attention  of  all;  for  the  preacher  is  not  to  indulge  in 
speculative  philosophy  —  setting  up  his  own  notions  and 
fancies,  or  any  other  human  dictum.;  but  with  an  open 
Bible  before  him,  he  shows  that  he  has  a  message  from 
heaven  as  he  announces  the  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord."  Here 
is  a  valid  basis  of  instruction  which  men  will  honor  and 
respect.  Besides,  one  great  purpose  in  preaching  is  to 
unfold  some  idea  of  inspiration.  If  this  be  not  our  inten- 
tion, we  need  no  text  at  all, — we  may  as  well  take  one  from 
Bacon's  "Essays."  Without  a  text  of  scripture  our  dis- 
course may  be  an  oration,  a  speech,  a  lecture,  an  essay; 
but  it  can  never  be  called  a  sermon.' 

I  Of.  F.  Wayland's  Letters  on  the  Ministry  of  the  Gospel. 


Reasons  for  Selecting  a   Text.  157 

2.  Because  it  confines  our  remarks  to  one  particular 
topic,  and  thus  affords  opportunity  for  thorough  analysis 
and  keen  penetration  into  each  passage,  without  rambling 
superficially  over  a  number  of  homogeneous  texts,  only 
touching  and  never  transpiercing  the  thought.  Preachers 
given  to  loose,  wandering  habits  of  study  should  cultivate 
concentration  of  thought  by  selecting,  not  those  texts  that 
are  fertile  or  comprehensive,  but  rather  the  opposite.  Look 
through  the  microscope  oftener,  and  less  through  the  id- 
escojpe. 

3.  Because  it  affords  variety  in  preaching.  The  Bible 
is  an  emporium  of  religious  commodity.  Its  shelves  and 
cases  are  stored  with  an  endless  wealth  and  variety  of 
themes,  insomuch  that,  for  hundreds  of  years,  thousands 
of  seraphic  orators  have  drawn  their  eloquent  appeals  from 
the  same  exhaustless  fountain  of  inspiration  with  such 
astonishing  diversity  that,  out  of  the  multitude  of  sermons 
preached,  no  two  are  perfectly  alike. 

4.  Because  it  aids  the  memory  of  the  hearer.  "  The 
best  texts  contain  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  whole  scope 
of  the  sermons  founded  upon  them.  The  most  felicitously 
chosen  texts  are  the  sermons  in  miniature.  The  sermons 
are  in  them  like  an  oak  in  the  acorn.  To  recall  them  is  to 
recall  the  train  of  thought  which  the  sermons  develop."^  In 
recalling  a  sermon  the  mind  generally  first  thinks  of  the 
text,  and  thereby  calls  up  the  treatment.  It  is  thus  that 
people  remember  the  sermon  heard  many  years  ago  ;  and 
every  casual  recurrence  of  the  text  brings  to  their  minds 
the  preacher,  audience,  and  effect  produced  in  their  minds, 
recalling  again  the  scene  of  long  ago,  and  making  the  text 
a  precious  jewel  in  their  Bibies.  Texts  thus  become/ociof 
recollections  or  sepulchers  of  embalmed  memories.^ 

The  first  inquiry  is, — 

S  Phelps'  Theory  of  Preaching,  p.  58. 

•  The  text "  recurs  again  and  again  to  such  a  hearer  amid  the  manifold  changes  and 


158  The  Preacher   and  His  Sermon. 

§    III.      FROM  WHAT  PORTION  OF  THE  BIBLE  SHOULD  THE 
TEXT  BE  SELECTED? 

True,  one  book  may  be  more  evangelical  and  practical 
than  another;  the  Old  Testament  may  not  be  so  rich  in 
Christian  tone  as  the  ISTew,  for  the  latter  is  the  flower  of 
which  the  former  is  only  the  bud;  yet  every  book,  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation,  contains  something  of  Christ — the 
hero  of  the  Bible,  and  the  only  great  theme  for  preaching. 
"When  we  preach  from  the  Old  Testament,  we  should 
surely  seek  to  find  the  New  Testament  in  it — the  testimony 
of  Christ,  the  analogy  of  faith.  Some  one  quaintly  says 
that  'ELe  who  understands  the  art  of  distinguishing  between 
Moses  and  Christ,  may  indeed  be  called  a  doctor.'  The 
Old  Testament  is  the  New  Testament  in  its  germ,  and  there- 
fore can  not  be  neglected  by  the  preachers  of  Christ;  but 
we  should  choose  our  texts,  and  treat  them  in  such  a  way 
as  that  they  may  all  bear  upon  the  'truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.'  "^ 
Hence  we  may  find  texts  flavored  with  the  Christ  sentiment 
in  all  portions  of  the  Bible.  The  book  of  Psalms  is  full  of 
such  texts.  In  the  New  Testament  we  may  find  those  of 
an  historical  character  chiefly  in  the  beginning;  those  of 
an  experimental,  chiefly  in  the  middle;  and  those  of  a 
prophetical,  chiefly  in  the  end. 

Some  preachers  hesitate  to  take  texts  from  the  books  of 
Daniel,  Ecclesiastes,  II.  Peter,  Hebrews,  and  lievelation,  be- 
cause their  canonical  autliority  and  authenticity  have  been 
controverted.  In  fact,  every  book  of  the  Bible  has  been 
assailed  at  some  time;  but  this  is  no  reason  why  we  should 
pass  them  over  in  selecting  our  texts.  There  is  abundant 
evidence   of  the   divine   inspiration   of  the    above   named 

trials  of  life;  and  as  its  light  was  the  first  gleam  of  heaven  that  fell  upon  his  soul,  so 
piTiulvonture,  it  is  the  last  tliat  ghiddens  and  sustiiins  him  as  he  closes  his  sojourn, 
itrikes  his  tent,  and  breasts  the  river." — Blaikie,  p.  160. 
1  lloppin's  Jlomilelics,  jip.  2'.i'J,o00. 


Where  to  Select  the   Text,  159 

"books,  which  alone  is  a  valid   basis   for   using   them   in 
preaching. 

Here  let  us  refer  to  the  impropriety  of  preaching  from 
passages  which  are  quotations  from  profane  writers, — for  not 
"  all  that  lies  between  the  covers  of  the  Bible  is  divine," — 
such  as,  "  We  are  also  his  offspring"  (Acts  xvii.  28);^  "  Cre- 
tans are  always  liars,  evil  boasts,  idle  gluttons"  (Titus  i.  12, 
R.  Y.);^  "Evil  company  doth  corrupt  good  manners"  (I. 
Cor.  XV.  33,  E.  Y.)  f  Jude  14,  15  is  probably  a  quotation 
from  the  book  of  Enoch.*  Many  proverbs  quoted  by  Christ, 
such  as,  "Physician,  heal  thyself"  (Luke  iv.  23),  and 
"  Strain  out  the  gnat,  and  swallow  the  camel"  (Matt,  xxiii. 
24,  R.  Y.),  which  are  supposed  to  be  from  the  fables  of 
^sop,  are  less  objectionable,  but  should  not  be  used  as 
texts  so  long  as  we  can  find  other  inspired  passages  that 
express  the  same  idea. 

Equally  as  much  should  we  avoid  the  erroneous  sayings 
of  uninspired  men,  whose  words  are  recorded  in  Scripture. 
"  Many  such  sayings  found  in  the  Bible  are  in  themselves 
utterly  untrue,  inspiration  being  responsible  only  for  the 
fact  that  they  were  actually  spoken.  N'o  one  would  think 
of  treating  as  true  the  vaunting  speech  of  Rabshakeh 
(II.  Kings  xviii),  *  *  >!^  *=  The  well-known  words  of 
Gamaliel  (Acts  v.  38,  39)  are  very  instructive  as  his  saying 
under  the  circumstances,  but  the  principle  laid  down  is  not 
true  without  qualification.  In  the  book  of  Job,  many  of 
the  things  said  by  those  friends  are  quite  erroneous."^  Saul 

1  This  is  a  quotation  from  the  Phenomena,  an  astronomical  poem  by  the  Greek  poet 
Aratus.    Cleanthus  also  expresses  the  same  sentiment  in  his  writings. 

2  From  Epimenides  of  Crete,  a  philosophical  poet  who  lived  in  the  sixth  century  B. 
C.  By  Plato  he  is  called  "a  divinely-inspired  man;"  by  Plutarch,  a  man  dear  to  the 
Gods." 

3  From  the  Greek  poet  Menander  in  his  play  called  Thais.  The  same  sentiment  is 
found  in  ^schylus,  Sevm  Against  Thebes,  ver.  605.  "  In  every  matter  there  is  nothing 
more  deleterious  than  evil  communications."  Also,  in  Diodorus  Siculus,  Lib.  xvi,  cap. 
£4,  "  With  these  evil  communications  he  corrupts  the  morals  of  men." 

4  See  an  article  on  the  Book  of  Enoch,  in  McClintock  anp  Strong's  Cyclopedia. 

5  Broadus,  Preparation  and  Delivery  oj  Sermons,  p.  49. 


i6o  The  Preacher  ajid  His  Ser77ion. 

and  Ahab  are  no  authority  for  divine  instruction.  Manj 
uninspired  sentiments  of  the  Bible  contradict  each  other 
and  usually  contradict  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
They  are  untrue,  and  therefore  unfit  for  texts  of  sacred  dis- 
course. 

In  order  to  avoid  spurious  and  interioolated  passages,  let  the 
preacher  use  the  Revised  Version  of  the  Scriptures,  from 
which  all  texts  of  doubtful  genuineness,  such  as  Acts  viii. 
37,  ix.  6,  xxviii.  29,  I.  John  v.  7,  etc.,  are  omitted.  ISo 
sacred  discourse  should  be  built  on  so  fallible  a  foundation 
as  human  opinion. 

From  whatever  portion  of  scripture  the  text  may  be  se- 
lected, it  must  always  be  presented  in  its  correct  translation. 
The  preacher  should  consult  commentaries,  translations, 
versions,  and  especially  the  original  text,  in  order  to  arrive 
at  its  true  meaning.  Many  erroneous  doctrines  and  false 
opinions  have  been  built  up  by  texts  which  mean  some- 
thing quite  difl'erent  from  the  sense  in  which  they  were 
used.  Thus,  the  passage,  "Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to 
be  a  Christian,"  has  often  been  used  as  a  text  for  a  sermon 
upon  "Almost  a  Christian;"  whereas  a  philological  exami- 
nation of  the  passage  will  show  an  almost  opposite  mean- 
ing. "  For  now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly,"  signifies 
more  than  would  appear  by  the  rendering.  A  truer  trans- 
lation would  be,  "  For  now  we  see  in  a  mirror,  obscurely." 
It  does  not  onl}'  imply  an  imperfect  vision,  but  a  mystery 
concealed  behind  an  imperfect  vision.  "'I  know  nothing 
by  myself,'  is  really,  '  I  am  not  conscious  to  myself  of  any 
guilt,'  and  yet  I  am  not  thereby  justified;  showing  that 
even  the  unconsciousness  of  his  sins  can  not  justify  the 
sinner — an  important  homiletical  and  practical  sense."' 
The  faithful  preacher  will  always  be  careful  to  preach  noth- 
ing but  the  unadulterated  word  of  God. 


I  Iloppin's  Homiletics,  p.  3(11. 


How  to  Select  a   Text,  i6i 

§   IV.      HOW   TO    SELECT   A   TEXT. 

A  text  always  implies  a  theme;  for  in  selecting  a  text 
we  also  select  a  theme,  and  vice  versa.  We  therefore  some- 
times use  these  two  terms  interchangeably. 

In  choosing  a  text,  several  things  should  be  taken  into 
consideration. 

1st.  The  ability  of  the  preacher.  He  should  not  undertake 
what  is  beyond  his  limit  of  comprehension — for  this  would 
evidently  result  in  confusion  and  defeat,  without  profiting 
himself  or  his  hearers;  nor  yet  should  he  be  content  with 
too  familiar  subjects,  but  take  such  as  are  most  in  accord 
with  his  information  and  individuality.  The  themes  which 
a  minister  habitually  selects  are  generally  an  index  of  his 
character. 

2d.  This  first  consideration  must  often  be  modified  by 
another;  namely,  the  character  and  ability  of  his  congregation. 
He  should  always  try  to  adapt  himself  to  the  wants  and 
capacity  of  the  people  whom  he  addresses. 

3d.  The  sermons  already  preached — looking  toward  a 
suitable  variety.  As  we  can  not  expect  to  preach  on  all 
the  various  scripture-topics,  our  selections  should  be  judi- 
cious, so  that  during  our  pastorate  at  one  place  we  shall 
have  passed  over,  at  least,  the  important  and  essential  doc- 
trines of  our  Christian  faith  and  practice. 

4th.  The  occasien.  The  subject  should  have  reference  to 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  auditors  are  assembled. 
True  eloquence,  says  Webster,  is  "  in  the  man,  in  the  sub- 
ject, and  in  the  occasion." 

5th.  lite  object  of  the  sermon.  This  is  an  important  con- 
sideration.    We  must  take  aim,  and  hit  some  mark. 

Outside  01  these  considerations,  cceteris  paribus,  the  fol- 
lowing rules  -will  be  of  service  in  selecting  a  text: 

Rule  1.     Select  one  toward  which  the  mind  naturally 


102  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

gravitates  at  the  time.  "  The  right  text  is  one  which  comes 
up  of  itself,  during  reading  or  meditating, — which  accom- 
panies you  in  your  walks,  goes  to  bed  with  you,  and  rises 
with  you.  On  such  a  text  thoughts  swarm  and  cluster  like 
bees  upon  a  branch.  The  sermon  ferments  for  hours  and 
days,  and  at  length,  after  patient  waiting,  and  almost 
spontaneous  working,  the  subject  clarifies  itself.  *  *  *  * 
Those  texts  which  come  up  of  themselves  *  *  *  *  are  the 
right  ones,  and  are  different  from  those  which  are  sought 
out."^  In  this  way  the  Holy  Spirit  often  directs  us  to 
the  proper  theme  when  other  methods  of  searching  out  a 
text  fail  us,  or  the  text  already  selected  is  unsatisfactory 
or  uninteresting.  "Whatever  becomes  the  most  interesting 
text  at  the  time  of  choosing  is  to  us  a  "  Palace  Beautiful," 
through  which  we  can  go  weeping,  singing,  and  rejoicing. 
We  should  not  omit  seeking  divine  guidance  in  the  selec- 
tion of  our  subjects.  "  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him 
ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally."  Yet  no  one 
should  rely  exclusively  on  such  help,  but  should  also  use 
the  means  placed  at  his  own  hands  for  self-help. 

Rule  2.  Seek  for  great  themes.  "We  do  not  mean  abstruse 
or  philosophically  profound,  but  religiously  great  themes, 
—  themes  that  constitute  the  great  pyramids  of  the  Script- 
ures. "We  again  quote  the  excellent  words  of  J.  "W.  Alex- 
ander, on  what  he  calls  "  The  great  themes : "  "  They  are 
such  as  move  the  feelings,  the  great  questions  which  have 
agitated  the  world,  which  agitate  our  own  bosom,  which 
we  would  like  to  have  settled  before  we  die,  which  we 
would  ask  an  apostle,  if  he  were  here.  These  are  to 
general  scripture-truth  what  great  mountains  are  in  geog- 
raphy. Some,  anxious  to  avoid  hackneyed  topics,  omit 
the  greatest,  just  as  if  we  should  describe  Switzerland  and 
omit  the  Alps.     Some  ministers  preach  twenty  years,  and 

I  J.  VV.  Alexander's  Thoughts  on  Preaching,  pp.  38,  39. 


How  to  Select  a   Text.  163 

yet  never  preacli  on  the  judgment,  hell,  the  crucifixion, 
nor  on  those  great  themes  which  in  all  ages  affect  children 
and  affect  the  common  mind." 

Rule  3.  Avoid  themes  that  are  petty,  odd,  and  frivo- 
lous. In  the  dark  ages  such  questions  were  discussed  as, 
""Whether  Ahel  was  slain  with  a  club,  and  of  what  species 
of  wood;  ""From  what  sort  of  tree  was  Moses'  rod 
taken?"  In  the  seventeenth  century  preachers  took  for 
their  themes  "  The  Four  Seasons; "  "  The  Seven  Planets; " 
"  The  Secret  of  Roses  and  Flowers."  A  pastor  of  Werni- 
gerode  preached  from  Matthew  x.  30,  and  deduced  from  it 
the  subject,  "  Our  Hair."  ^  A  writer  in  the  last  century 
tells  of  a  time  when  homiletical  instruction  was  given 
upon  the  subject  of  silk -worms.  Some  preacher  dis- 
coursed upon  the  "Substitute  for  Tea  and  Coffee"  at  a  time 
when  those  commodities  were  scarce;  another  preached 
upon  the  Christian  mode  of  cultivating  red-beets;  another, 
upon  the  truly  pious  method  of  raising  tobacco.  Luther 
used  to  say  that  the  time  would  come  when  men  would 
preach  on  blue  ducks. 

Exceedingly  unbecoming  was  the  petty  smartness  of  one 
of  Dr.  Philip  Doddridge's  students,  who,  on  preaching  a 
sermon  in  public  before  his  venerable  instructor,  announced 
as  his  text,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet 
hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip?" 

Even  in  our  modern  pulpits  we  hear  of  a  great  deal  of 
eccentricity  in  the  selection  of  texts.  One  preaches  on 
"  There  appeared  a  great  wonder  in  heaven,  a  woman;" 
another  selects  the  word  "  grace,"  and  preaches  upon  it 
alphabetically,  making  this  division:  great  grace,  rich 
grace,  almighty,  covenant,  eternal  grace.^   In  order  to  draw 

1  See  Dr.  Hurst's  History  of  Ratkmnlism,  pp.  70,71 ;  also,  Christlieb's  Modem  Doubt  and 
Christian  Belief. 

2  Spe  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  46,  where  many  examples  of  odd 
subjects  are  given. 


164  The  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

people  to  church  through  curiosity,  sensational  subjects  are 
often  announced  in  the  Saturday  papers;  such  as,  "The  Girl 
of  the  Period,"  "  The  Man  in  the  Moon,"  "  The  Devil's 
Funeral  Sermon,"  "  The  Greatest  Liar  in  Town."  Bishop 
Simpson  speaks  of  one  who  advertised,  "'Words  that  were 
Spoken  by  neither  God,  Man,  nor  Devil;'  and  when  his 
wondering  congregation  came,  his  words  were  the  utter- 
ances of  Balaam's  ass."  A  preacher  in  Kew  Jersey 
preached  on  the  "  Marriage  of  Adam ;''  another  in  Massa- 
chusetts, on  the  "  Sin  of  Raising  Apples  for  Cider." 

"Where  in  this  world  is  buffoonery  so  much  out  of  place 
as  in  the  pulpit?  *  *  *  *  The  origin  of  this  sinful  and  ab- 
surd manner  of  entertaining  an  audience  on  the  Lord's  day 
most  generally  is  in  a  desire  to  copy  after  some  erratic,  or 
possibly  unprincipled,  preacher,  who,  by  his  recklessness 
as  to  the  way  of  handling  the  truth  of  God  and  by  his 
genius,  has  risen  to  a  temporary  popularity."^  A  preacher 
who  resorts  to  such  illegitimate  means  of  drawing  the 
people  will  not  succeed  in  making  much  religious  impres- 
sion upon  his  hearers.  A  trivial  manner  of  using  the 
sacred  word  in  the  pulpit  is  not  only  beneath  the  dignity 
of  a  serious  minister,  but  is  actually  sinful. 

'"Tis  pitiful 
To  court  a  grin,  when  you  should  woo  a  soul ; 
To  break  a  jest,  when  pity  would  inspire 
Pathetic  exhortation  ;  and  to  address 
The  skittish  fancy  with  facetious  tales, 
When  sent  with  God's  commissiou  to  the  heartl"- 

RuLE  4.  Select  a  text  that  embraces  a  theme.  In  order 
to  give  some  unity  to  a  discourse,  every  text  must  em- 
brace enough  words  to  make  complete  sense  or  contain  a 
truth.'    "  For  sake  of  brevity  a  passage  is  sometimes  mu- 

1  Murphy's  FasioTal  Theology,  pp.  206,206. 
a  CowptT,  The  Task,  Book  II. 

3  We  have  heard  of  a  preachor  who  select<vl  for  his  text  the  word  "  One;"  another 
•♦But;"  another,  "O;"  another,  "Z;iphii:ith-i  auneuh." 


How  to  Select  a   Text.  165 

tilated.  Thus,  Bishop  Home's  sermon  entitled  'The  Tree 
of  Life'  has  this  text:  'The  tree  of  life  also  in  the  midst  of 
the  garden,'  —  a  nominative  without  a  predicate.  In  other 
instances,  a  few  words  are  selected  to  express  a  complete 
sense  by  omitting  intervening  words  or  phrases.  Dr.  Blair, 
in  his  sermon  '  Gentleness,'  has  for  his  text  the  words, '  The 
wisdom  from  above  is  *  *  *  *  gentle.*  *  *  *'  Blair,  in  his 
sermon  on  'Devotion,'  uses  the  words,  'Cornelius,  a  devout 
man,'  as  a  text.  The  passage  is  given  in  Acts  x.  2.  When 
our  choice  falls  upon  a  text  containing  more  matter  than 
we  wish  to  discuss,  the  plain  course  is  to  select  our  one 
topic,  after  reading,  and  if  we  please,  briefly  comment  on 
the  whole,  rather  than  to  select  a  word  or  two  which  sug- 
gests no  subject  whatever."^  The  text  may  be  a  clause,  a 
verse,  a  paragraph,  or  a  chapter.  No  rule  can  be  given  as 
to  its  length.  A  parable,  prophecy,  vision,  Sunday-school 
lesson,  or  any  selection  of  scripture  whose  several  parts  can 
be  grouped  under  one  general  head,  may  be  selected  as  a 
theme.  Sometimes  several  passages  from  different  parts  of 
the  Bible  may  together  form  a  text,  provided  they  are  either 
identical  in  meaning,  or  component  parts  of  one  and  the 
same  subject.^  But  in  the  latter  case  care  must  be  taken  in 
bringing  together  different  passages  under  one  subject,  not 
to  use  them  in  a  sense  different  from  that  used  in  their  re- 
spective connections.  Otherwise,  scripture  might  be  forced 
to  teach  anything.  The  attempt  to  dissect  and  recombine 
to  suit   one's   preconceived  notion,  is   a  dishonoring  and 

1  E.  Porter's  Lectures  on  Homiletics,  p.  64. 

2  Chas.  G.  Finney  has  a  sermon  on  "  The  Atonement,"  which  has  for  a  text  five 
different  passages ;  namely,  "  How  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Script- 
ures" (I.  Cor.  XV.  3) ;  "  For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sm  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin ;  that 
we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him"  (II.  Cor.  v.  21);  "But  God  com- 
mendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us"  (Rom. 
V.  8) ;  "  The  Lord  is  well  pleased  for  his  righteousness'  sake;  he  will  magnify  the  law, 
and  make  it  honorable"  (Isa.  xlii.  21);  "  Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are 
past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God;  to  declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his  righteousness: 
that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus"  (Rom.  iii.  25,  26). 


1 66  The  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermon. 

mutilating  of  the  divine  "Word.  As  a  rule,  we  should  seek 
for  such  a  passage  as  will  alone  express  our  theme;  but 
if  this  can  not  be  found,  nothing  forbids  us  legitimately 
to  unite  several  passages  to  compose  a  text.^  We  may 
also  invert  the  terms  of  a  text,  if  this  will  conduce  to 
clearness  and  unity. 

Rule  5.  Select  a  text  from  which  a  theme  can  be  derived 
legitimately  and  naturally.  There  should  be  no  incon- 
gruity between  the  text  and  the  theme;  for  the  sermon 
must  not  be  a  preface  or  supplement  to,  but  a  development 
of,  the  text.  The  text  is  the  nucleus  of  the  discourse;  or, 
as  Wayland  has  said,  "The  sermon  must  be  the  text 
expanded,  and  the  text  the  sermon  contracted."  The  one 
includes  the  other.  "  Let  your  sermon  grow  out  of  your 
te?:t  just  as  the  boughs  of  an  oak  grow  out  of  its  trunk. 
The  main  thought  of  the  text  should  furnish  the  trunk  of 
the  discourse;  and  every  inference  and  every  practical 
application  should  have  an  organic  connection  with  the 
text.  So  close  and  vital  should  be  the  connection  between 
your  text  and  your  discourse,  that  if  you  decapitate  the 
discourse  by  cutting  off  the  text  and  attempt  to  substi- 
tute another,  it  should  be  certain  death  to  the  sermon. 
What  a  monstrous  caricature  of  preaching  the  word  is  that 
practice  of  writing  a  theological  essay  and  then  attaching 
a  text  to  it,  as  a  shop-keeper  pins  a  label  on  his  wares! "' 
"  It  is  said  of  Latimer  that  in  his  advanced  age  he  had  a 
text  which  served  for  any  subject  —  'Whatsoever  things 
were  written  aforetime,  were  written  for  our  learning.* 
An  English  preacher,  at  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln's  visitation, 
in  1818,  chose  for  his  text,  '  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men;'  and  after  his 


1  We  may  select  several  texts  for  a  sermon,  if  no  single  one  is  sufficient  to  embrace 
our  theme;  iis,  for  example,  the  duty  of  family  worship,  or  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
requires  different  scripture-passages  to  establish  the  doctrine. 

2  r.  L.  Cuylor,  in  Homiletic  Monthly. 


How  to  Select  a   Text.  167 

exordium  proposed,  as  the  subject  of  discourse,  'To  exam- 
ine the  doctrines  of  Calvin,  as  laid  down  in  his  Institutes.'"^ 
The  habit  of  adopting  a  passage  merely  as  a  motto,  or 
starting-point,  from  which  to  arrive  at  irrelevant,  inde- 
pendent, and  isolated  conclusions  that  have  no  organic, 
vital  nexus  with  the  true  sense  of  the  text,  is  to  be  con- 
demned. A  text  which  is  chosen  and  then  soon  abandoned, 
is  not  a  text,  but  a  pretext.^  Neither  should  a  positive 
theme  be  deduced  from  a  negative  text,  and  vice  versa. 
Every  one  can  see  the  impropriety  of  preaching  on  Chris- 
tian perseverance  from  such  texts  as,  "  Ye  are  fallen  from 
grace;"  or,  "Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any 
of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  departing  from  the 
living  God;"  or,  "From  that  time  many  of  his  disciples 
went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  him."  Just  as 
much  should  we  avoid  preaching  on  final  apostasy  from 
such  words  as,  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,"  "I  have 
kept  the  faith,"  "  He  that  endureth  unto  the  end  shall 
be  saved,"  etc.  The  discourse  must  not  point  in  one 
direction  while  the  text  points  in  another;  neither  should 
they  intersect  at  intervals  by  oblique  movements,  con- 
verging and  then  diverging;  but  both  must  be  co-exten- 
sive, and  reach  the  same  terminus.  "If  the  text  be  in 
the  shape  of  a  declaration,  a  precept,  a  promise,  a  threat- 
ening, an  invitation,  an  appeal,  or  an  argument,  some- 
thing of  the  same  form  and  character  should  be  given 
to  the  sermon.  Or,  again,  if  the  text  be  tender  and  com- 
passionate, or  indignant  and  menacing,  admonitory,  re- 
proachful, conciliatory,  or  encouraging,  something  of  the 

1  E.  Porter's  Lectures  on  Homiletics. 

2  "Ye  shall  be  as  gods,"  was  used  as  a  text  by  a  divine  to  discuss  the  future  glory  of 
the  Christian.  "  In  the  multitude  of  my  thoughts  within  me,  thy  comforts  delight  my 
soul,"  was  the  text  for  a  sermon  on  election  and  reprobation ;  and  the  proposition  waa, 
"that  among  the  multitude  of  thought-s  there  was  a  great  thought  of  election  and  repro- 
bation." The  two  pence  in  the  parable  of  the  "Good  Samaritan"  are  sometimes  taken 
as  the  text  for  a  sermon  on  the  two  sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's-supper. 
Such  texts  are  inappropriate  for  these  subjects. 


1 68  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

eame  spirit  should  be  infused  into  the  discourse."^  Stick 
to  the  text,  rather  than  follow  Bourdaloue,  who  took  a  text 
merely  to  show  how  skillfully  he  could  get  rid  of  it. 

Rule  6.  As  to  language,  choose  those  texts  that  are 
plain  and  simple,  in  preference  to  those  that  are  obscure 
and  grand.  A  high-sounding  expression,  polished  with 
rhetorical  or  poetical  ornament,  when  taken  as  a  text,  is 
generally  prophetic  of  defeat;  for  the  preacher,  starting 
from  so  eloquent  a  strain,  must  evidently  descend  in  com- 
parative diction,  instead  of  ascending  toward  a  rhetorical 
climax.  We  should  rather  seek  for  great  thoughts  expressed 
in  plain  words — ^kings  in  simple  clothing,  rather  than  beg- 
gars in  royal  robes.  However,  pompous  phraseology  alone 
is  no  sufficient  reason  for  rejection  if  the  passage  contains 
an  important  truth;  but,  as  a  rule,  ornate  language  is  no 
desirable  quality  for  a  text.  So,  also,  a  passage  which  is 
obscure,  either  in  thought  or  language,  and  which  would 
require  a  long,  critical  commentary  in  the  introduction, 
to  decide  its  meaning,  should  not  be  selected  for  a  text. 
It  is  better  suited  for  technical  philosophy  and  exege- 
sis than  for  public  preaching.  Let  the  minister  wait  until 
future  investigation  has  cleared  up  the  difficulty  of  the 
passage  before  he  takes  it  for  a  text.  Kot  that  the  preacher 
has  no  concern  with  such  passages  —  for  he  ought  to  be  a 
critical  student  of  the  sacred  Word;  but  let  him  do  this 
work  in  his  study  and  not  in  his  pulpit,  which  is  the  place 
for  the  delivery  of  undoubted  and  undisputed  Bible  doc- 
trine, and  not  of  controverted  philosophy.^ 

1  Gresley's  Treatise  on  Pre'iclang,  p.  250. 

2  Passages  of  this  kind  are  sucli  as  Christ's  words  in  Mark  ix.  4!);  or  Paul's,  in  Ro- 
mans vii.  9-25;  or  I.  Peter  iv.  6,  in  wliieh  verse  the  meaning  of  the  word  vexpoU  is  tlie 
great  subject  of  dispute ;  or  the  mysterious  passage  in  II.  Peter  i.  20,  21 ;  or  the  allegory 
of  the  "  bond-woman"  and  the  "  free-woman,"  in  Galatians  iv.  21-31. 


A  Systematic  Record  of  Texts.  169 

§    V.      WHEN    TO    CHOOSE   A   TEXT. 

The  text  should  be  selected  early,  in  the  beginning  of 
the  week,  for  the  following  Sunday.^  Monday  is  a  favora- 
ble day.  "When  the  pulpit  failures  or  successes  of  the 
previous  day  are  yet  fresh  in  the  memory,  and  "  tired 
nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep,"  has  rested  the  weary 
mind,  and  given  it  calmness,  deliberation,  and  clearness, 
what  condition  could  be  more  auspicious  for  casting  about 
for  some  theme  for  the  next  Sabbath's  duties?  A  text 
should  not  be  selected  when  the  mind  is  absorbed  and  sur- 
charged with  various  topics  of  interest,  such  as  usually 
come  up  during  the  busy  week,  but  when  it  is  most  free 
and  unburdened.  Now,  Monday  should  be  the  preacher's 
Sunday,  a  depot  on  the  intellectual  route,  where  the  men- 
tal train  not  only  stops  and  rests,  but  also  takes  in  fuel  for 
another  draught. 

Another  advantage  resulting  from  an  early  selection,  is 
the  longer  time  it  affords  for  reading  and  meditating  upon 
the  theme. 

§   VI.      A  SYSTEMATIC  RECORD  OF  TEXTS  FROM  WHICH  TO  SELECT. 

To  facilitate  the  work  of  selection,  every  preacher,  in- 
stead of  buying  a  book  of  sketches  of  sermons,  should 
make  one  for  himself,  in  which  to  write  all  the  texts  of 
scripture  which  impress  him  at  any  time,  and  upon  which 
he  thinks  he  could  construct  a  sermon  at  some  time, 
whether  such  texts  occur  to  him  through  reading,  devo- 
tion, hearing,  or  reflection.  Let  him  write  them  down, 
as  they  occur  to  him,  together  with  the  outline-thought,  in 
a  properly  classified  form,  and  he  will  always  have  a  fresh 
supply  of  texts  from  which  to  select,  without  losing  much 

I  Beecher  and  Spurgeon  select  their  texts  usually  on  Sunday  mornings,  or  an  hour 
or  two  before  preaching;  but  their  rule  would  be  unsafe  for  any  one  except  them- 
selves to  follow,  because  what  becomes  extraordinary  men  does  not  suit  ordinary 
ones. 


170  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

time  in  hunting  what  he  wants.  The  habit  of  searching 
through  the  Bible  at  random,  in  pursuit  of  a  text,  is  too 
mechanical  and  aimless,  and  involves  waste  of  time  that 
should  be  more  profitably  employed. 

The  forms  of  a  text -record  are  various,  and  must  be 
adapted  to  each  preacher's  use.  The  following  may  serve 
to  explain  the  idea  of  such  a  record.  Procure  a  good- 
sized  blank  book,  and  arrange  it  into  the  difterent  gen- 
eral heads  of  topics,  such  as  Doctrinal^  Practical^  Expository^ 
Faneral,  Revival,  Children,  etc.  Subdivide  each  of  these 
generals  into  particulars ;  for  example,  Doctrinal  might 
have  a  blank  page  devoted  to  each  separate  doctrine  — 
Faith,  Regeneration,  Adoption,  Resurrection,  Immortality, 
and  such  doctrinal  subjects  as  you  wish  to  preach  upon 
at  some  time.  Funeral  may  have  a  place  for  texts  suitable 
for  the  death  of  Children,  Adults,  Unconverted,  Unbelieving, 
Middle-aged,  Aged,  Pious,  as  well  as  for  miscellaneous 
circumstances  —  Sudden  Death,  Death  by  Accident,  by  Lin- 
gering Disease,  by  Insanity,  Intemperance,  etc.  Under  each 
of  these  sub -heads  write  in  full  the  different  texts  suited 
for  the  subject  or  occasion,  together  with  the  book,  chap- 
ter, and  verse,  so  that  at  a  glance  you  have  the  im- 
port of  the  passage  and  its  place  in  the  Bible.  To  this 
text -record  a  column  may  be  added  to  record  the  time 
and  place  when  the  recorded  text  was  used.  This  text- 
record,  when  used  in  conjunction  with  a  general  index,^  is 
very  helpful. 

§   VII.      INTERPRETATION    OF    THE    TEXT. 

After  a  suitable  text  has  been  selected,  the  next  impor- 
tant work  is  to  ascertain  the  true  meaning  of  the  text. 
This  requires  a  knowledge  of  that  branch  of  theology 
technically  called   Ilermeneutics,  to    which    we   refer   the 

I  See  chapter  on  Special  Preparation. 


Interpretation  of  the  Text.  171 

preacher  for  a  more  extended  and  systematic  treatment.^ 
However,  since  this  branch  of  theology  is  so  indispensable 
to  sermonizing,  and  is  so  often  neglected  by  the  sermon- 
izer,  a  treatise  on  preaching  will  necessarily  be  incomplete 
without  giving  it  a  passing  notice,  at  least  so  far  as  its  im- 
portance and  use  in  preaching  are  concerned. 

It  is  surprising  to  observe  what  license  some  preachers 
will  take  in  giving  their  own  views  upon  a  text,  as  if  any 
sense  which  they  may  choose  to  give  it,  or  any  use  they 
may  make  of  it  for  convenience  or  opinion's  sake,  were 
allowable.  God's  word  means  somethi7ig,  something  definite 
and  fixed, — not  anything,  subject  to  fluctuation  and  custom. 
To  mean  anything  is  to  mean  nothing.  "  A  misinterpreted 
text  is  no  part  of  the  Bible."  To  misinterpret  a  text  in 
preaching  is,  like  idolatry,  false  worship.  As  our  God  is 
a  jealous  God,  and  will  have  no  other  gods  before  him,  so 
he  will  have  no  other  than  his  true  word  before  his  people. 
To  discover  what  that  word  is,  and  how  to  understand  it 
and  explain  it  to  the  people,  should  be  the  great  burden  of 
the  preacher's  study. 

The  preacher  is  a  teacher  sent  by  God, — an  expounder  of 
the  divine  oracle,  and  he  must  not  thoughtlessly  misrepre- 
sent its  Author  or  his  message,  but  conscientiously  inter- 
pret it  as  one  on  oath  bound  to  tell  the  truth  and  nothing 
but  the  truth.  An  interpreter,  in  general,  is  a  mediator  be- 
tween people  who  do  not  understand  each  other's  speech. 
By  his  knowledge  of  both  languages  he  translates  the  lan- 
guage of  one  person  into  that  of  the  other  in  such  a  way 
that  the  thought  shall  lose  nothing  by  the  translation.  If 
the  matter  to  be  interpreted  be  important,  such  as  would 


I  The  following  works  give  valuable  instruction  on  the  subject:  Home's  Intruduction; 
Davidson's  Sacred  Hermeneutics  Developed  and  Applied;  Angus'  Bible  Hand-Book;  Barrows' 
Companion  to  the  Bible;  Fairbairn's  Uermeneutical  Manual;  Elliott  and  Harsha's  Biblical 
Hermeneutics.  Broadus,  in  his  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  has  a  good  chapter  on 
the  Interpretation  of  the  Test. 


172  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

involve  life  or  death,  the  duty  of  the  interpreter  to  faith- 
fully perform  his  work  becomes  more  serious  and  re- 
sponsible. God's  message  to  man  in  relation  to  his  duty 
and  eternal  destiny,  is  the  most  important  communication, 
of  which  the  mind  can  conceive  ;  and  he  who  stands  be- 
tween God  and  man  as  its  interpreter,  must  not  expound 
the  message  at  random,  giving  this,  that,  or  the  other 
meaning,  according  as  it  may  appear  to  him  at  first  sight, 
or  as  he  wishes  it  might  be,  or  as  it  would  be  acceptable  to 
popular  opinion,  but  must  strive,  by  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  such  help  as  he  may  get  from  a  knowledge  of 
the  best  laws  of  interpretation,  to  discover  what  is  "the 
mind  of  the  Spirit,"  and  to  give  the  earnest,  truth-seeking 
people  the  unadulterated  truth,  without  the  loss  of  any  of 
its  original  divine  spirit,  or  the  addition  of  aught  of 
human  accretions,  in  passing  through  the  medium  of  God's 
chosen  interpreter. 

I.  Difficulties  of  Interpretation.  There  are  some  difficul- 
ties in  the  way  of  explaining  a  text  that  must  not  be  over- 
looked: 

1.  Scripture  was  written  in  languages  that  are  now 
dead;  not  only  extinct,  but  not  classically  accurate.^ 

2.  It  was  written  in  a  period  of  time  wholly  unlike 
the  present.  The  circumstances  of  writers,  history,  geog- 
raphy, customs,  etc.,  must  all  be  taken  into  consideration 
in  explaining  the  text  to  a  modern  congregation. 

3.  The  subjects  expressed  by  the  text  are  often  novel, 
or  supernatural,  and  are  invariably  divine.  It  is  no  easy 
matter  to  understand  the  phraseology  of  new  doctrines  that 
are  beyond  human  conception. 


I  Luke  employs  the  purest  Grook  of  nil  the  New  Testament  writers.  Some  think  Mat- 
thew wrote  his  gospel,  and  Paul  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  in  the  Hebrew  hmguage. 
Whatever  may  be  the  linguistic  character  of  these  fuw  books,  nearly  all  the  rest  of  the 
New  Testament  ifl  in  a  modified  dialect  of  Greek,  which  oontaios  mauj  Hsb'aismf  *nd 
other  idioma. 


Interpretation  of  the   Text.  173 

4.  Theological  creeds  and  prepossessions  are  often  im- 
posed upon  a  given  text,  and  the  preacher  is  very  likely  to 
interpret  to  suit  such  preconceived  theories. 

II.  Prerequisites.  In  view  of  these  difficulties,  which 
often  prevent  an  honest  and  truthful  explanation  of  the 
text,  it  is  necessary  to  mention  a  few  important  qualifica- 
tions which  are  requisite  to  this  work  of  interpretation, 
not  the  least  of  which  is  a  knowledge  of  the  original  lan- 
guages in  which  the  text  is  written.  Though  not  abso- 
lutely necessary,  yet  it  is  highly  important  that  the  preacher 
be  able  to  examine  every  text  in  the  original,  without  de- 
pending on  a  commentary.  The  new  revision  of  the  Bible 
will  somewhat  assist  interpretation  so  far  as  language  is 
concerned,  but  will  not  take  the  place  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  original  languages.^ 

In  addition,  he  also  needs  a  knowledge  of  the  usages 
and  circumstances  of  the  biblical  writers,  and  the  history 
of  their  times,  as  well  as  an  acquaintance  with  the  sciences, 
especially  geology  and  natural  history. 

It  is  very  necessary  that  the  interpreter  possess  a  com- 
plete knowledge  of  the  entire  Bible,  and  thoroughly  under- 
stand its  general  teachings  on  all  scripture  topics.  This  is 
what  Home  and  others  call  "  the  analogy  of  faith,"  "  We 
may  define  it  to  be  that  general  rule  of  doctrine  which  is 
deduced  not  from  two  or  three  parallel  passages,  but  from 
the  harmony  of  all  parts  of  scripture  in  the  fundamental 
points  of  faith  and  practice."  ^  This  is  the  key  that  will 
greatly  help  to  unlock  the  meaning  of  nearly  every  text. 
For  example,  a  correct  biblical  conception  of  the  nature  of 
God's   kingdom,  man's   nature,  redemption,  and   the  last 

1  "  The  best  translation  must  always  leave  room  enough  for  the  commentator.  *  *  *  * 
Therefore,  even  now,  the  new  and  revised  version  will  not  supersede  the  study  of  the 
Bible  in  the  original  tongue." — Lecture  IX.,  by  J.  J.  S.  Perowne,  in  Eomileiical  and  PnS' 
toral  Lectu/res,  delivered  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  before  the  Church  Homiletical  Society, 
p.  235. 

2  Home's  Mroductwn,  Vol.  I.,  p.  269,  edit.  1860. 


174  ^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermoji. 

things,  will  greatly  assist  in  the  explanation  of  any  text 
on  these  subjects  that  might,  when  considered  independ- 
ently of  all  parallel  passages,  admit  of  various  senses. 
Should  the  preacher  have  a  text  relating  to  the  mooted 
question  of  the  ultimate  salvation  of  the  heathen  who  die 
without  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  he  must  not  inquire 
what  may  possibly  be  tortured  out  of  the  phraseology  of 
the  text,  or  what  ought  to  be  true,  in  his  conception,  if 
God  is  a  Father,  but  rather,  "What  is  the  general  drift  of 
all  scripture-teachings  on  this  subject? 

But,  however  skilled  in  these  requisites  of  Bible-knowl- 
edge, Bible-language,  and  Bible-history,  without  a  patient 
spirit  of  research  and  an  unbiased  love  for  the  truth,  he 
may  err,  and  use  his  very  knowledge  to  pervert  the  mean- 
ing of  a  text.  A  calm  judgment,  together  with  a  spiritual 
sympathy  with  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures,  are  the  impor- 
tant requisites,  and  the  best  safeguards  against  misinter- 
pretation.^ 

III.  Brief  Hules  of  Interpretation.  The  following  canons 
of  interpretation  are  condensed  from  McClintock  and 
Strong's  "  Biblical,  Theological,  and  Ecclesiastical  Cyclo- 
pedia:" 

1.  The  iirst  and  most  essential  process  is  to  apply  the 
natural  and  obvious  principles  of  a  careful  and  conscien- 
tious exegesis  to  the  passage  and  all  its  terms.  This 
requires  diligent  use  of  a  good  lexicon  and  grammar,  and 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  archaeology  involved, 
including  geography,  chronology,  and  oriental  usages.  The 
context  should  be  carefully  consulted;  and  the  general  drift 
of  the  argument,  as  well  as  the  author's  special  design  in 
writing,  must  be  kept  in  mind. 

2.  Parallel  and  illustrative  passages  must  be  attentively 
considered,  on  the  principle  that  scripture  is  its  own  best 

I  Henry's  Oommtntary,  for  this  reason,  is  good  for  bomiletical  purposes. 


How  to   Ob  tarn  a  Proper   Theme.  175 

interpreter.  This  is  pre-eminently  true  of  types,  meta- 
phors, parables,  prophetical  symbols,  and  other  figurative 
representations. 

3.  When  various  meanings  are  assignable  to  a  given 
passage  or  word,  that  should  be  selected  which  is  the 
broadest  in  its  import  and  application;  if  possible,  one  that 
is  inclusive  of  all  or  most  of  the  others. 

4.  The  consensus  of  the  universal  church,  in  past  and 
present  time,  should  have  its  due  influence;  not  as  being  of 
absolute  authority,  but  as  an  exponent  of  the  aggregate 
and  deliberate  judgment  of  good  and  unprejudiced  men. 
Creeds,  confessions,  articles  of  faith,  and  the  study  of 
exploded  or  living  heresies,  are  useful,  but  more  particu- 
larly a  collation  of  the  views  of  preceding  commentators. 
The  Word  of  God  itself,  however,  is  superior  to  them  all, 
and  it  is  not  only  possible,  but  certain,  that  in  some  points 
they  have  erred. 

5.  When  different  interpretations  are  possible,  that 
must  be  selected  which  is  most  consistent  with  common 
sense. 

6.  It  will  sometimes  become  necessary  to  modify  our 
conclusions  as  to  particular  passages  in  consequence  of  the 
discoveries  and  deductions  of  modern  science.  Instances 
in  point  are  the  theories  respecting  the  creation  and  del- 
uge, arising  from  the  progress  of  astronomical  and  geolog- 
ical knowledge.  All  truth  is  consistent  with  itself;  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  Bible  should  be  so  interpreted 
as  to  contradict  the  "  elder  scripture  writ  by  God's  own 
hand  "  in  the  volume  of  nature. 

§   VIII.      HOW  TO  OBTAIN  A  PROPER  THEME  FROM  THE  TEXT. 

To  select  an  excellent  text  and  get  the  true  meaning  out 
of  it,  is  the  first  and  fundamental  requisition  in  preparing 
a  good  sermon.  This  affords  the  assurance  that  the  begin- 
ning, at  least,  is  receiving  divine  sanction,  and  furnishes  a 


176  The  Preaxhcr  and  His  Sermon. 

solid  foundation  upon  which  to  build.  If  all  the  after-work 
be  as  much  in  keeping  with  the  evangelical  spirit  of  true 
scriptural  preaching,  we  may  hope  to  be  "  approved  unto 
God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed."  Eut  in 
order  to  conserve  the  true  idea  of  the  text,  care  should  be 
taken  in  deducing  a  proper  theme,  therefrom.  Sometimes 
the  preacher  clearly  understands  his  text  but  fails  in  the 
work  of  generalization,  in  binding  its  thoughts  together 
into  a  unit.  The  preacher  must  acquire  a  habit  of  grasp- 
ing firmly  the  idea  of  the  text,  and  after  removing  all  the 
excrescences  retaining  only  the  pith  and  marrow. 

1.  Select  the  text  before  selecting  the  theme.  There 
may  be  exceptions,  as  on  special  occasions  when  subjects 
are  suggested  by  the  character  of  the  meeting;  or  when, 
as  it  may  occasionally  occur,  the  most  interesting  thoughts 
arise  independently  of  any  text;  but  the  proper  and  most 
natural  way  for  an  expounder  of  the  Word  is  not  to  decide 
on  a  theme  or  proposition  until  after  the  text  has  been 
selected  and  interpreted.  This  plan  will  conduce  to  a  more 
consistent,  correct,  and  biblical  preaching  than  the  other, 
inasmuch  as  a  sermon  will  be  the  spontaneous  outgrowth 
of  a  scripture-seed,  instead  of  a  discourse  attached  to  a 
passage  whose  real  meaning  may  not  be  in  harmony  with 
the  subject. 

2.  Make  the  theme  express  the  main  substance  of  the 
text.  There  are  side-issues,  oblique  branches,  and  subor- 
dinate considerations  belonging  to  every  scripture-passage, 
which  include  only  fragmentary  or  related  text-thoughts, 
and  which  must  never  constitute  the  main  theme  of  discus- 
sion. We  must  try  to  get  at  the  kernel  or  heart  of  the 
text.  If  we  have  this,  we  have  all;  if  we  have  not  this, 
we  have  nothing  to  the  point.  Here  is  where  the  preach- 
er's skill  is  often  put  to  task;  for  not  a  little  discriminating 
insight  is  required  to  know  where  to  find  and  touch  the 
life-pulse  of  the  text.     The  theme  is  the  text  described  and 


How  to  Obtain  a  Proper  Theme.  177 

circumscribed,  and  has  its  center  of  gravity  within  the 
text;  and  the  preacher's  business  is  not  to  involve  into  it 
"  somethiDg  that  is  extrinsic,  but  to  evolve  out  of  it  some- 
thing that  is  intrinsic."^  The  Unknown  Quantity  of  Christ, 
would  be  a  comprehensive,  strong,  and  vital  theme  from 
the  text,  "What  manner  of  man  is  this?"  (Matthew 
viii.  27.) 

3.  See  that  the  text  and  theme  are  equivalent.  Thus, 
John  xiv.  13,  "And  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name," 
etc.,  may  have  the  theme,  Prayer  in  the  I^ame  of  Jesus, 
but  as  general  a  subject  as  Prayer  would  be  too  wide 
for  this  text.  The  text  should  comprise  no  less  material 
than  is  developed  in  the  discussion  of  the  sermon,  but  fairly 
cover  the  whole  area  of  the  theme.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
is  desirable  that  it  comprise  no  more  matter  than  is  deter- 
mined by  the  topic;  yet  this  is  often  impossible.  As  Dr. 
Kidder  says,  "  The  grand  principle  is,  that  the  subject  be 
found  within  the  text  and  be  legitimately  deducible  from 
it.  The  text  is  always  greater  than  the  subject;  and  as  the 
greater  contains  the  less,  so  the  text  usually  embraces 
several  subjects,  whereas  the  sermon  should  always  bo 
confined  to  one."  ^  In  order,  then,  to  make  the  theme  and 
text  equipollent,  we  should  eliminate  from  the  passage  or 
verse  selected  what  is  outside  the  theme,  as  superfluous 
terms  are  thrown  out  of  an  algebraic  equation,  without 
changing  the  meaning  in  the  least.  For  example,  a  dis- 
course on  Christian  Honesty  might  be  derived  from  Phil, 
iv.  8.  After  reading  the  entire  verse  we  might  specify  the 
clause,  "  "Whatsoever  things  are  honest,  *  *  *  *  think 
on  these  things,"  as  containing  the  theme  for  discussion. 
Thus  is  preserved  the  connection  of  inspired  language, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  text  and  the  subject  are  rendered 
equivalent. 

I  Shedd's  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  169. 

a  HomileUet,  p.  118.  U 


CHAPTER    III. 

SPECIES  OF  SERMONS. 

Sermons  of  Two  Species  — The  Topical  Sermori  —  The  Textual  Sermon, 

§   I.    SERMONS    OF    TWO    SPECIES. 

Every  sermon  should  have  a  specific  form  or  mode  of 
discussion,  clearly  distinguishable,  and  determined  by  the 
special  design  of  the  discourse.  Like  leaves,  no  two  ser- 
mons can  be  alike  in  every  respect.  But  we  must  discard 
all  minutely  superficial  distinctions,  and  seek  to  find  broad, 
deep,  underlying  marks  of  classification,  by  curtailing  log- 
ical comprehension  and  thereby  widening  the  scope  of 
extension.  The  most  generic  divisions  of  plants  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom  are  the  phenogamous,  or  flowering 
plants,  and  the  cryptogamous,  or  flowerless  plants.  All 
other  divisions  radiate  from  these  two  centers.  So  every 
sermon  is  a  product  that  finds  its  development  either  on 
the  surface  of  the  text  or  in  the  interior  of  the  text- 
thought.  Under  these  two  modes  of  development  are 
included  all  forms  of  sermons,  either  as  clearly  distin- 
guished or  as  confused  or  modified  forms  of  these  two 
classes. 

Many  earlier  authors  on  homiletics  adopted  a  great 
number  and  variety  of  forms.  Later  ones  begin  to  recog- 
nize only  three, — textual,  topical,  and  expository;  but  even 
these  are  one  too  many.  Many  confound  the  mode  of 
division  with  the  mode  of  treatment,  and  give  that  a  place 

178 


Sermons  of  Two  Species.  179 

in  their  classification  of  species  wliicli  should  be  recognized 
as  only  a  certain  quality  of  the  species.  The  various  modes 
employed  are  so  numerous  that  to  enumerate  them  here,  if 
not  impossible,  would  be,  at  least,  too  tedious. 

While  there  are  many  forms  of  treating  a  theme,  the 
preacher  should,  however,  accustom  himself  to  only  two 
general  plans  of  sermonizing,  known  as  the  topical  and 
the  textual.  When  Broadus  and  Shedd  speak  of  a  third 
species  —  namely,  the  expository,  they  evidently  mean  an 
expository  mode  of  treating  a  subject.  These  writers,  though 
clear  and  discriminating  in  their  views,  on  this  point  are 
scarcely  able  to  show  wherein  the  expository  sermon  differs 
from  the  textual.  One^  acknowledges — "We  at  once  per- 
ceive that  there  is  no  broad  line  of  division  between  ex- 
pository preaching  and  the  common  methods,  but  that  one 
may  pass  by  almost  insensible  gradations  from  textual  to 
expository  sermons;"  and  in  a  foot-note  to  this  confession 
adds,  "  IS'early  all  that  has  been  said  above  upon  text-ser- 
mons applies  directly  to  expository  preaching."  Why  then 
make  any  specific  distinction?  A  sermon  can  not  be 
expository  without  also  being  textual,  but  may  be  textual 
without  being  expository.  Hence,  expository  is  a  variety 
included  under  the  species  textual,  and  by  no  means  a  co- 
ordinate species  of  the  genus  sermon.  It  is  better  not  to 
confuse  the  mind  with  many  unnecessary  distinctions.  All 
that  has  ever  been  said  on  the  expository  mode  of  preach- 
ing is  not  sufficient  ground  for  making  it  a  separate  species 
of  sermon.  These  two  species — topical  and  textual  —  arc 
all  that  are  necessary. 

However,  to  reduce  them  to  only  one  species  is  to  cause 
difficulty.  Some  texts  are  not  adapted  to  topical  discourse 
on  account  of  a  lack  of  perfect  unity  of  thought,  though  all 
possess  this  quality  in  a  measure.    All  such  are  suitable  for 


X  Broadus,  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  303. 


i8o  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

textual  discourses.  Yinet,  requiring  strict  logical  unity  in 
all  sermons,  is  obliged  to  speak  against  the  necessity  of 
using  a  text  in  every  sermon,  for  the  reason  that  "  every 
text  does  not  contain  a  subject."  ^  No,  not  fully  and  legiti- 
mately; but  there  is  no  theme  relating  to  man's  salvation, 
or  worthy  of  any  pulpit  discourse,  that  does  not  find  ex- 
pression in  some  passage  or  connected  passages  of  scripture. 
But  we  distinguish  between  those  passages  of  complete 
and  those  of  partial  unity,  using  the  former  in  topical  and 
the  latter  in  textual  discourses.  We  now  speak  of  these 
two  species  of  sermons. 

§   II.      THE   TOPICAL   SERMON. 

The  topical  sermon  is  one  in  which  the  subject  is  divided 
according  to  its  own  nature.  It  generalizes  the  text  and 
adopts  one  leading  idea  as  its  theme.  The  preacher,  having 
defined  and  circumscribed  his  conception  of  the  text  as  a 
whole,  launches  out  into  his  theme,  as  into  a  sea,  to  explore 
its  secret  and  inherent  wealth,  without  any  further  regard 
to  the  words  of  the  text.  This  kind  of  discourse,  much 
like  the  regular  oration,  is  characterized  by  unity  and  ora- 
torical efl'ect.  Laying  aside  all  minor  and  diverging  con- 
siderations, it  advances  toward  its  object  with  a  steady, 
undeviating,  increasing  momentum  of  argument  and  elo- 
quence, and  when  completed  resembles  a  ball  that  bears 
down  heavily  on  one  point.  "Divide  up  the  thunder  into 
separate  notes,  and  it  becomes  a  lullaby  for  children;  but 
pour  it  forth  in  one  continuous  peal,  and  its  royal  sound 
shall  shake  the  heavens."  ^ 

Every  minister  should  practice  this  kind  of  preaching. 
Though  it  requires  more  labor  in  its  preparation  than 
the  textual,  yet  on  account  of  its  cftcctiveness  and  power 

1  Ilomilctics,  p.  97. 

2  Schiller. 


The   Topical  Sermon.  i8i 

of  conviction  it  should  often  be  used.  It  also  conduces 
to  a  greater  variety  of  topics.  A  minister  may  thus 
preach  several  times  on  the  same  text  and  every  time 
have  a  new  theme;  for  many  passages  embrace  groups 
of  kindred  topics  that  can  readily  be  separated  by  log- 
ical analysis.  Thus,  Kidder  gives  the  following  example 
from  the  text,  '•'  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  (John  iii.  16.) 
From  it  we  may  derive  various  important  themes;  as,  (1.) 
God's  great  love  for  the  world.  (2.)  God's  gift  of  his  only 
begotten  Son  to  save  sinners.  (3.)  God's  gift  of  eternal 
life  through  the  Son  of  his  love,  (4.)  The  perishing 
condition  of  the  world  without  a  Savior.  (5.)  The  neces- 
sity of  faith  in  Christ  as  a  means  of  salvation.^  The  fol- 
lowing themes  have  been  deduced  by  diiferent  preachers 
from  the  same  text,  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  his  righteousness;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you."  (Matt.  vi.  33.) 

(1.)     The  Higher  and  Lower  Good,  by  Mark  Hopkins. 

(2.)     Special  Divine  Providence,  by  Beecher. 

(3.)     The  Heavenly  Order,  by  J.  C.  Hare. 

(4.)     Eeligiou  and  First  Choice,  by  J.  C.  Mozley.^ 

(5.)     The  Profitable  Pursuit,  by  W.  Jay. 

As  a  rule,  however,  we  should  draw  only  one  theme 
from  a  given  text,  and  that  the  most  important,  significant, 
and  general.  Thus,  in  the  first  example,  from  Kidder,  the 
first  theme  is  preferable. 

Having  decided  on  a  proper  theme,  the  next  in  order  is 
the  proposition, 

I.  The  Proposition.  Every  topical  sermon,  in  order  to 
promote  unity,  should  have  what  is  called  a  proposition. 

I  Womiletics,  p.  171. 
a  University  sermon. 


1 82  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

This  is  a  statement  of  the  particular  truth  arising  out  of 
the  theme  which  the  preacher  wishes  to  establish.  It  is 
the  ultimate  conclusion  which  the  sermon  has  in  view.' 
Quintilian,  in  De  Institutione  Oratoria,  Book  Third,  distin- 
guishes the  causa  from  the  quaestio,  and  both  from  the 
status  eausa.  So  in  pulpit  oratory  we  have,  first,  a  text — 
an  announcement  of  a  mere  item  of  inspiration ;  second,  a 
theme,  which  expresses  the  leading  truth  derived  there- 
from; and  third,  a  proposition,  that  focalizes  all  its  ele- 
ments in  one  point.  These  three  parts  —  text,  theme, 
proposition, —  sustain  each  a  diminutive  relation  to  the 
other,  like  a  wheel  within  a  wheel.  The  proposition  is 
comprehended  in  the  theme  as  the  theme  is  comprehended 
in  the  text;  but  the  proposition  defines  and  circumscribes 
the  discussion.  It  aflects  every  part  of  it,  and  is  a  handle 
or  lever  that  takes  it  all  up  together. 

The  advantage  of  the  proposition  is  in  the  unity  which 
it  gives  to  the  sermon.  Without  unity  the  sermon  will 
likely  be  rambling,  and  end  without  accomplishing  any 
definite  object.  The  criticism  passed  upon  preaching  of 
this  sort  is  too  often  true, — "he  aimed  at  nothing  in  par- 
ticular; and  he  hit  it."  Aristotle  says,  "It  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  a  discourse  should  state  something,  and 
prove  it."  Performers  on  the  tight-rope  steady  their  whole 
body  by  fixing  the  eye  intently  on  a  point  in  the  distance; 
80  the  sermonizer  will  save  himself  from  a  zigzag,  rambling 
discussion  by  keeping  his  mind's  eye  steadily  upon  the 
point  of  his  proposition. 

However,  unity  of  aim  is  not  destroyed  by  variety  of 
elements,  provided  they  mutually  unite  in  a  unity  of  impres- 
sion. Thus,  when  Bourdaloue  preached  on  the  "  Severity 
and  Mildness  of  Christian  Law,"  the  proposition  was  dual 

I  The  proposition  in  Paul's  speech  before  Felix  is  given  in  Acts  xxiv.  25.  Bcngel, 
with  doubtful  propriety,  putd  forward  Psalms  viii.  6-9  as  the  proposition  of  the  Epistlo 
to  the  Hebrews. 


The  Topical  Sermon,  183 

in  form,  but  the  two  elements  were  complements  to  each 
other.  Massillon's  sermon  on  "  The  Death  of  the  Sinner 
and  the  Death  of  the  Righteous,"  was  antithetic;  and  "A 
Comparison  of  St.  John  in  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  and  l^a- 
poleon  at  St.  Helena,"  would  be  a  comparison  and  contrast 
blending  into  one  general  object. 

While  the  theme  is  stated  in  a  rhetorical  form,  the  propo- 
sition is  usually  put  in  a  logical  form.  Thus,  from  the 
text,  "Blessed  are  all  they  that  put  their  trust  in  him,"  we 
may  derive  the  theme  in  rhetorical  form :  Blessedness  of  a 
trust  in  God;  and  the  logical  proposition.  Trust  in  God 
brings  peace  of  mind.  The  proposition  may  be  a  species 
of  which  the  theme  is  the  genus. 

Great  care  ought  to  be  taken  in  stating  the  proposition. 
It  should  express  in  epitome  the  general  contents  of  the 
entire  sermon  that  is  to  follow,  including,  as  far  as  possible, 
all  the  germ-thought  to  be  developed,  and  excluding  every- 
thing not  appertaining  to  the  proposed  substance  of  the 
discourse.  Propositional  precision  demands  that  the  idea 
of  the  sermon  be  fully  expressed,  and  that  nothing  more 
be  included.  The  proposition  "  must  be  plain,  clear,  and 
precise,  stating  the  subject,  the  whole  subject,  and  nothing 
but  the  subject."  *  It  is  the  key-note  of  the  discussion, 
and  must  give  no  uncertain  sound.  Let  it  be  framed 
into  one  brief  sentence,  carefully  written  out,  firmly  fixed 
in  the  memory  as  the  rallying-point  of  the  discussion, 
and  kept  in  mind  in  the  onward  movement  of  the  preach- 
er's thought,  as  the  mariner  watches  the  needle  of  his 
compass. 

Sometimes  the  words  of  the  text  will  also  be  the  words 
of  the  propositiori ;  as,  for  example,  Eomans  viii.  28: 
"  All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God;"    "  God  is  love,"  etc. 

I  Potter's  Sacred  Eloquence,  p.  1-17. 


184  The  Preacher  ayici  His  Sermon. 

It  will  often  be  useful  to  state  the  proposition  in  several 
ways  or  forms  of  expression.  As  there  may  be  occasion 
in  some  discussions  to  repeat  the  proposition  frequently  in 
tbe  progress  of  the  sermon,  a  different  but  equivalent 
phraseology  of  the  idea  will  avoid  tautology,  and  increase 
the  hearer's  interest  in  the  subject. 

It  is  always  better,  especially  in  the  first  announcement 
of  the  proposition,  to  put  it  in  a  positive  form,  though 
the  text  may  be  negative.  Thus,  Psalms  xiv.  1 :  "  The 
fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God,"  should  have 
for  proposition,  "  There  is  a  God,"  though  the  entire  effort 
may  be  a  refutation  of  atheism.  Such  a  refutation  would 
really  be  the  most  effectual  way  of  establishing  the  above 
proposition  ;  for  if  the  negative  is  proved  to  be  false,  its 
contradictory — the  affirmative  —  must  be  true. 

Kot  unfrequently  the  proposition  is  entirely  suppressed ; 
BO  evident  is  it  from  the  drift  of  the  whole  discussion  that 
everybody  will  know  what  it  is  without  its  formal  expres- 
sion. But  without  a  proposition  either  expressed  or  implied, 
the  sermon  can  not  be  a  topical  discourse.  It  need  not 
necessarily  be  stated  to  the  congregation  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sermon,  and  where  a  repugnance  to  or  prejudice 
against  the  subject  exists  on  the  part  of  the  hearers,  it  is 
better  to  postpone  the  formal  statement  of  the  proposition 
until  the  close  of  the  discussion.  Or,  a  hearer's  prejudice 
may  be  forestalled  by  a  concealment  of  our  ultimate  object 
in  the  proposition.  Professor  Phelps,  in  his  "  Theory  of 
Preaching,"  gives  the  following  example:  "Adopt  the 
text,  '  Are  not  my  ways  equal  ?  '  Announce  as  your  prop- 
osition this,  to  consider  some  illustrations  of  the  reason- 
ableness of  God's  ways  with  men  in  certain  things  of 
which  men  often  complain.  This  is  a  harmless  statement, 
offensive  to  none,  yet  sufficiently  definite  to  give  to  the 
intellect   of  hearers  a   center   of   attention    and   interest. 


The   Topical  Sermo7i.  185 

You  proceed  to  develop  it  by  a  cumulative  series  of  re- 
marks. You  observe:  1.  That  God  is  reasonable  in  cre- 
ating man  without  giving  him  a  choice  as  to  his  own 
existence;  2.  That  God  is  reasonable  in  subjecting  mau 
to  a  government  of  law;  3.  That  God  is  reasonable  in 
placing  man  on  probation  under  law;  4.  That  God  is 
reasonable  in  sustaining  law  by  adequate  sanction  of 
which  he  only  is  the  proper  judge;  5.  That  God  is  rea- 
sonable in  the  reprieve  of  violators  of  law  by  a  scheme  of 
grace,  of  which,  also,'  he  alone  can  intelligently  judge; 
6.  That  God  is  reasonable  in  executing  the  sanctions  of 
law  against  transgressors;  7.  Especially  is  God  reason- 
able in  the  punishment  of  sinners  who  have  violated  both 
law  and  grace.  In  a  cumulative  discourse  of  this  kind, 
your  final  object  is  reached  by  a  gradual  approach,  which 
may  be  made  to  cover  the  whole  of  the  popular  objec- 
tion to  the  doctrine  of  retribution.  Yet  a  proposition  is 
announced  which  conceals  that  final  object  till  you  are 
prepared  to  declare  it  advantageously." 

As  to  the  qualities  of  a  proposition: 

1.  It  should  be  simple.  In  framing  a  simple  proposition 
we  should  avoid  all  rhetorical  garnish  and  aftectation,  or 
grandeur,  of  style.  Simplicity  of  statement  also  forbids 
the  use  of  strange,  technical  terms  which  are  not  intel- 
ligible to  the  general  audience;  as,  ethical  for  moral; 
cosmogony  for  creation;  allowing,  however,  such  theolog- 
ical technicalities  as  the  Bible  has  originated,  but  not 
those  which  are  the  products  of  the  schools.  Figura- 
tive forms  of  statement  are  also  objectionable.  If  meta- 
phorical language  is  not  allowable  in  the  wording  of 
criminal  law,  and  in  the  description  of  boundary  of  real 
estate  in  a  title-deed,  we  see  a  greater  reason  for  its  im- 
propriety in  the  phraseology  of  the  proposition  of  a 
sermon.      A   popular  proverb,  extreme  paradox,   or  any 


1 86  The  Pj'eacher  and  His  Sermon, 

fantastic  form  of  statement,  is  too  indefinite  and  ambig- 
uous to  be  incorporated  into  a  plain,  simple  proposition  of 
discussion. 

2.  It  sbould  be  specijic;  that  is,  the  latitude  of  the  dis- 
course should  be  specific  rather  than  generic,  particular 
rather  than  general.  A  young  preacher  may  think  it  an 
advantage  to  widen  the  scope  of  his  theme  so  as  to  afibrd 
a  greater  abundance  of  material ;  but  the  adoption  of  such 
a  plan  will  not  discipline,  but  dwarf,  his  inventive  and 
penetrative  power.  Restriction  of  subject  will  stimulate 
intensity  and  acuteness  of  thought,  while  amplitude  tends 
to  a  superficial  and  hackneyed  mode  of  treatment.^    Depth 

•  of  discussion  is  better  than  breadth.  A  pointed  outline  is 
more  seemly  than  a  bulky  skeleton,  which,  like  Bunyan's 
Apollyon,  "  straddles  over  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
way."  "  "When  difierent  kinds  of  propositions  ofier  them- 
selves," says  Hoppin,  "  then  the  more  specific  one  is  to  be 
preferred."  ^ 

3.  It  should  be  brief.  It  should  be  put  into  a  condensed 
expression,  or  terse  sentence,  which  is  full  of  meaning. 
All  needless  synonyms,  epithets,  disjunctives,  or  expanded, 
circuitous  constructions,  must  be  strictly  avoided. 

The  proposition  is  generally  introduced  after  the  intro- 
duction, in  a  variety  of  modes;  such  as,  "I  propose  to 
speak  of;"  "The  text  teaches;"  "The  discourse  will  be 
devoted,"  etc.;  but  it  is  a  sign  of  egotism  to  announce  the 
proposition  boastingly,  or  daringly;  as,  "  I  shall  convince 
you;"  "  I  challenge  contradiction;"  "I  ask  you  to  listen  to 
my  important  arguments."  ^ 

II.  Divisions.  Divisions  arc  the  several  parts  into  which 
a  subject  is  formally  separated,  and    are  used  as  an   aid 

1  A  certain  Frencli  critic  said,  "  Genuine  depth  comes  from  concentrated  ideiv.s."' 

2  Homilcdcx,  p.  378. 

3  It  is  siiid  of  Luther,  that  he  once  flung  his  proposition  upon  an  audience  with  these 
words:  "  I  shall  prove  this  doctrine  so  unanswerably  that  any  one  of  you  who  does  not 
believe  it  will  bo  damned." 


The  Topical  Sermon.  187 

in  presenting  thoughts  consecutively  and  methodically. 
Dividing  a  theme  is  the  act  of  resolving  it  into  its  con- 
stituents, the  general  into  the  individual.  ITearly  every 
proposition  is  composite,  and  admits  of  a  plan,  or  separa- 
tion into  its  component  parts.  The  proposition  is  the  plan 
in  the  germ;  the  plan  is  the  proposition  unfolded.  Hence, 
every  division  must  be  inherent  in  the  proposition,  and 
grow  naturally  out  of  it,  as  branches  grow  out  of  the  tree, 
in  order  to  develop  the  proposition. 

The  use  of  divisions  is  recommended  for  the  following 
reasons : 

First.  They  decompose  the  theme,  and  present  it  in  all 
its  essential  parts.  This  affords  facility  for  logical  arrange- 
ment  by  mapping  out  the  course  to  be  pursued. 

Second.  They  give  to  each  of  the  elements  of  which 
the  subject  is  composed  its  real  importance. 

Third.  They  promote  variety  in  unity,  and  vice  versa. 
The  one  theme  is  analyzed  into  a  variety  of  aspects  and 
members,  as  under  a  microscope;  and  yet  all  the  members 
are  bound  together  in  one  bond  of  unity, —  a  kind  of  E 
pluribus  unum,  one  body  with  many  members. 

Fourth.  Again,  they  promote  clearness  and  progress  in 
a  discourse.  We  see  things  more  clearly  when  we  stop  to 
examine  them  in  detail,  and  only  one  at  a  time;  and  we 
are  thus  constantly  and  orderly  advancing  toward  a  com- 
pletion as  we  step  from  one  part  to  the  other,  leaving 
behind  us  a  complete  work,  and  looking  and  pressing  for- 
ward toward  the  goal  of  our  discussion. 

Fifth.  They  promote  permanence  of  impression.  The 
three  points  of  a  sermon  upon  which  the  memory  lays 
hold  with  its  strongest  and  most  enduring  grasp  are  the 
text,  proposition,  and  divisions.  Divisions  assist  the  mem- 
ory of  both  speaker  and  hearer  in  holding  the  discourse  in 
its  details.     Cicero  says,  "  It  is  chiefly  order  that  gives  dis- 


1 88  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

tinctness  to  memory.  *  *  *  *  There  is  scarcely  any  one 
of  so  strong  a  memory  as  to  retain  the  order  of  his  lan- 
guage and  thoughts  without  a  previous  arrangement  and 
observation  of  heads."' 

Some  authors  have  spoken  against  the  use  of  divisions; 
but  they  have  been  incited  to  this  by  observing,  not  their 
proper  use,  but  their  shameful  abuse.  When  men  break 
loose  from  one  extreme  they  often  swing  to  the  opposite. 
Thus,  Fenelon,  in  his  second  Dialogue  on  Eloquence,  dis- 
cards their  use  altogether;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
Fenelon  lived  at  a  time  when  the  practice  prevailed  of 
multiplying  divisions  in  such  excessive  measure  that  it 
became  burdensome  to  the  hearer.  To  divide  and  subdi- 
vide a  subject  down  to  its  minutest  point  was  considered  a 
merit  rather  than  a  fault  of  the  sermon.  Hence,  in  shun- 
ning this  abuse  he  naturally  denounced  the  use  of  divis- 
ions altogether.  J.  W.  Alexander,  in  his  "  Thoughts  on 
Preaching,"  seconds  the  view  of  Fenelon  on  this  subject; 
but  this  can  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  these  thoughts 
were  written  at  the  period  of  his  life  when  he  was  ex- 
changing his  rigidly  logical  method  of  composition  for  the 
more  natural  and  spontaneous.  Formerly  he  had  been  a 
strong  advocate  of  divisions,  and  used  them  in  his  preach- 
ing. Robert  Hall,  theoretically,  was  opposed  to  divisions, 
and  yet  generally  employed  them,  only  two  or  three  of 
his  published  sermons  appearing  without  them.  The 
ancient  orators  did  not  discard  them  in  the  work  of  com- 
posing their  orations,  but  concealed  them  in  public  delivery, 
lest  the  auditors,  who  then  were  always  suspicious  of  the 
speaker's  honest  intentions,  Avould  fear  deceit  if  they 
should  discern  a  pre-arranged  plan  rather  than  a  spontane- 

I  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  used  to  tell  his  hearers,  at  the  close  of  a  division,  what  was 
vital  to  his  arguments,  and  what  he  wished  them  especially  to  remember,  saying, 
"Nail  that  thought  down;"  "Don't  let  this  slip  away;"  "Put  a  peg  in  there."  This 
seemed  to  clinch  it  more  secure.'y  upon  their  memories. 


The  Topical  Sermon.  189 

OU8  utterance.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  majority  of 
homiletical  writers  favor  strongly  the  use  of  divisions. 

In  rare  cases  no  divisions  are  required,  the  proposition 
being  the  only  topic  for  discussion.^  This  is  generally  the 
case  when  the  theme  is  either  so  specific  or  incomposite  in 
nature  as  scarcely  to  admit  of  any  divisions;  but  even  here 
an  order  of  arrangement  must  be  observed,  for,  according 
to  Horace,  "  The  power  and  the  beauty  of  order  consists 
in  saying  just  now  what  just  now  ought  to  be  said,  and 
postponing  for  the  present  all  the  rest."^  Order  should  be 
a  law  of  the  sermon  as  well  as  a  law  of  heaven.  Most 
subjects,  however,  consist  of  groups  of  ideas  capable  of 
being  analyzed,  and  presented  in  their  individual  form. 

The  plans  of  division  are  so  numerous  and  various  that 
they  can  not  be  here  described.     We  give  a  few  examples : 

1.  We  may  divide  the  genus  into  its  species: 

Text.  —  "For  all  the  promises  of  God  in  him  are  yea, 
and  in  him  Amen."     II.  Corinthians  i.  20. 
Theme.  —  The  Veracity  of  God's  Promises. 
Proposition.  —  God's  promises  are  faithfully  fulfilled. 
I.     His  general  promises. 
XL     His  particular  promises. 

(1.)     To  certain  people.     (The  Jews.) 
(2.)     To  certain  families.     (Abraham.) 
(3.)     To  certain  men.     (David,  Paul,  etc.)  ^ 

2.  We  may  analyze  the  theme: 

Text.  —  "But  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to 
repent."     Acts  xvii.  30. 
Theme.  —  Repentance. 
I.     Its  nature. 
II.     Its  necessity. 
III.     Its  results. 

3.  We  may  view  the  theme  in  its  relations : 

1  Bisliop  Simpson,  in  his  Yale  Lectures,  says,  "  The  form  of  divisions  is  best  for 
severe  argumentation." 

2  Ars  Foetica,  -12,  quoted  by  Broadus,  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  263. 

3  Cf.  Vinet's  Homiletics,  p.  280. 


IQO  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Text.  —  "Know  that  tlie  Lord  is  God,  and  that  there  is 
none  else."     I.  Kings  viii.  60. 
Theme.  —  The  Perfection  of  God. 
Proposition.  —  God  is  pre-eminently  perfect. 
I.     In  relation  to  his  eternity. 
II.     In  relation  to  his  omnipotence. 

III.  In  relation  to  his  omnipresence. 

IV.  In  relation  to  his  wisdom.^ 

4.  We  may  treat  the  theme  by  comparison,  or  contrast. 
This  method  is  often  used  in  figurative  passages,  such  as 
similes,  metaphors,  etc. : 

Text.  — "  I  am  the  bread  of  life."     John  vi.  35. 

Theme.  —  Christ  our  Bread. 

Proposition.  —  Christ  is  our  spiritual  food. 

I.     Christ,  like  bread  —  necessary  to  life. 
II.     Christ,  like  bread  —  only  relished  by  the  hungry. 
III.     Christ,  unlike  bread — instead  of  becoming  assim- 
ilated to  us,  we  become  assimilated  to  him;  the  stronger 
absorbing  the  weaker. 

5.  We  may,  when  the  theme  is  a  plain  or  admitted  fact, 
generally  treat  it  by  illustration: 

Text.  —  "  Thy  word  is  truth."     John  xvii.  17. 
Theme.  —  The  Truthfulness  of  God's  Word. 
Proposition.  —  God's  word  is  true. 

I.     Illustrated  from  human  history. 
II.     Illustrated  from  all  established  science. 

III.  Illustrated  from  its  descriptions  of  character. 

IV.  Illustrated  from  its  adaptation  to   the  wants  of 
men.  ^ 

6.  We  may  present  the  various  proofs  of  a  subject: 
Text.  —  "  Be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out."     Numbers 

xxxii,  23. 

Theme. —  Concealment  of  Sin  no  Security  to  the  Sinner. 

I  Cf.  Kidder's  HomUetics,  p.  211.  a  Ibid, 


'  The   Topical  Sermon.  19 1 

Proposition.  —  Secret  sin  will  come  to  light. 
I.     By  remorse  of  conscience. 
II.     By  the  power  of  natural  law. 

III.  By  the  special  working  of  divine  Providence. 

IV.  By  the  awful  revelations  of  the  day  of  judgment.* 
Which  mode  of  division  to  adopt,  must  be  determined 

by  the  kind  of  text  and  the  object  of  discourse.  Som.e 
passages  of  scripture  are  better  adapted  to  one  kind  of 
division  than  to  another;  but  even  the  most  appropriate 
division  must  not  be  used  for  the  sake  of  the  form,  but 
only  as  it  promotes  the  special  design  of  the  sermon.  Let 
it  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  object  to  be  accomplished  is 
always  the  first  consideration.  Divisions  are  only  helps, — 
a  species  of  tactics  for  oratorical  conquest ;  but  the  trained 
general  knows  best  how  to  pitch  a  battle,  or  what  method 
of  attack  to  employ,  in  order  to  gain  a  victory.  An  exam- 
ination of  the  different  plans  used  by  different  preachers  on 
the  same  theme  or  text,  a  knowledge  of  logic,  and  a  heart 
anxious  to  impress  the  truth  most  forcibly  and  clearly 
upon  human  hearts,  will  help  one  to  adopt  the  best  method 
of  division  —  best  for  himself,  if  not  best  for  another;  for 
each  preacher  has  his  own  peculiar  methods  of  work. 

1.  Variety.  —  However,  a  preacher  should  not  accus- 
tom himself  to  only  one  mode  of  treatment,  and  discard 
all  others.  Avoid  stereotyped  plans  and  pedantic  man- 
nerism; for  much  of  the  effectiveness  of  preachin-g  is  lost 
by  following  week  after  week,  and  year  after  year,  the 
same  old  beaten  track,  until  every  member  of  the  congre- 
gation can  tell  beforehand  what  will  come  first,  second,  and 
third.  Some  preachers  are  in  the  habit  of  casting  every  ser- 
mon into  a  tri-form  mold,^  or  rigid  external  frame-work, 

1  Blaikie,  p.  191. 

2  "  The  subject  of  the  first  sermon  is  Sorrow  for  Sin,  and  the  divisions  are  three;  first, 
the  duty  is  commanded;  secondly,  the  neglect  of  it  will  be  punished;  thirdly,  the  per- 
formance of  it  will  be  rewarded.    *    «    «    *    For  the  next  sermon  he  selects  a  different 


192  The  Preacher   and  His  Sermon. 

with  a  certain  number  of  heads,  each  attended  by  a  uni- 
form train  of  satellites.  This  soon  becomes  wearisome  to  a 
congregation.  Formality  in  preaching  is  as  bad  as  formal- 
ity in  religion.  "  Men  must  be  approached  in  various 
ways.  One  key  will  not  unlock  every  door,  but  there  must 
be  a  key  to  fit  every  lock."  ^  If  one  Sunday  the  preacher 
uses  the  analytic  method,  let  him  use  the  synthetic,  or  sim- 
ple illustrative,  the  next. 

2.  Exhaustiveness.  —  The  treatment  should  be  thor- 
ough and  exhaustive;  not  in  the  sense  that  nothing  must 
be  omitted  that  pertains  to  the  subject,  but  exhaustive  in 
the  sense  that  all  that  is  necessary  to  the  establishing  of 
the  proposition  be  treated,  and  that  it  adequately  cover  the 
end  proposed.  We  should  name  all  the  species  that  make 
up  the  genus.  Every  division  is  a  fractional  part  of  the 
whole,  and  all  the  divisions  taken  together  will  equal  it. 
To  omit  one  part  would  invalidate  the  conclusion  by  leav- 
ing out  an  important,  component  argument.  Thus,  in  the 
proposition.  Academical  honors  are  useless,  we  may  reach 
such  a  sort  of  conclusion  from  the  considerations:  1st. 
They  are  not  needed  by  those  who  have  a  taste  for  study. 
2d.  They  have  no  effect  on  the  idle.  Here  we  assume  that 
all  students  belong  either  to  the  diligent  class  or  to  the  idle 
class;  whereas  we  omit  a  large  intermediate  class  who  are 
not  altogether  hopelessly  idle,  nor  habitually  studious,  and 
these  may  be  influenced  by  collegiate  honors.     The  divis- 


theme, —  the  Duty  of  Cliristian  Cheerfulness,  and  advances  the  three  positions:  First, 
God  has  commanded  the  duty;  secondly,  will  reward  the  performance  of  it;  thirdly,  will 
punish  the  neglect  of  it.  *  *  *  '•''  For  the  third  sermon  the  preacher,  for  the  sake  of 
variety,  selects  a  third  theme,  as  different  as  need  he  from  the  two  preceding.  Ho  an- 
nounces the  subject,  the  Duty  of  Accepting  the  Gospel  of  Christ;  but  au'ain  calls  in  the 
rhetorician's  charmed  number  of  topics  —  'three:'  God  has  commanded  the  duty,  will 
punish  the  neglect,  reward  the  performance  of  it.  Thus  every  sermon  is  laid  down  upon 
this  standard  triangle." — Prof.  Park  on  Cast-iron  Methods,  quoted  by  Townsend  in  Sword 
and  Garment,  p.  151. 

I  Beecher's  Yalt  Leeturea. 


The  Topical  Sermon.  193 

ions  not  being  exhaustive,  the  proposition,  therefore,  is  not 
established.^ 

Again,  we  must  use  only  one  principle  of  division;  that 
is,  the  chief  ideas  must  all  sustain  the  same  kind  of  rela- 
tion to  the  subject.  They  must  be  numerators  having  a 
common  denominator.  Thus,  on  the  principle  of  'person- 
ality^ I  might  divide  the  subject  of  the  Trinity  into  three 
heads:  God,  Christ,  Holy  Spirit;  on  the  principle  of  nat- 
ure, as  spiritual,  eternal,  holy,  just,  etc.;  on  the  principle 
of  q^ce,  as  judging,  justifying,  redeeming,  etc.  But  it 
would  be  wrong  to  flit  from  one  principle  of  division  to 
the  other  a:id  divide  the  Trinity  into  God,  Holiness,  and 
Kedemption.  ^  It  is  well,  whenever  we  find  a  discourse 
very  perplexing  or  confused,  to  examine  the  principle  of 
division. 

Another  important  consideration  is,  that  the  several 
divisions  must  exclude  one  another.  To  prove,  for  exam- 
ple, justification  by  faith,  under  the  heads,  first,  from 
Reason;  second,  from  Revelation;  and  third,  from  the  Testi- 
mony of  Paul,  would  employ  a  fault}'^  division,  because  the 
third  is  included  in  the  second.^  We  should  seek  for  few 
and  comprehensive  divisions,  and  they  must  never  overlap 
each  other. 

When  we  say  the  treatment  should  be  thorough  and 
exhaustive,  we  mean  that  the  divisions  should  be  the  fair- 

1  See  McCosh's  Logic. 

2  "Cross-divisions  tend  to  confuse  the  hearer.  *«•«•«  Here  is  a  Gothic  window.  I 
describe  it  by  saying  that  it  is  made  of  wood,  and  glass,  and  lead,  and  oak,  and  paint. 
I  add  that  some  of  its  panes  are  red,  and  some  are  circular,  and  some  are  blue,  and  some 
are  larger  than  others,  and  that  some  are  square,  and  some  are  green.  I  continue, 
that  some  are  diamond-shaped,  and  some  are  opaque,  and  some  are  crescent,  and  some 
are  concave,  and  some  are  ground,  and  some  are  painted,  and  some  are  yellow,  and  some 
are  cracked,  and  some  are  transparent,  and  some  are  patched,  and  some  are  missing. 
Taking  breath,  I  conclude  by  observing  that  it  was  modeled  by  Michael  Angelo,  and  ia  a 
memorial  window,  and  that  it  is  a  venerable  relic  of  Italian  art,  and  that  it  still  exists  ia 
the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Florence,  with  a  picture  of  a  dove  in  the  center,  which  baa 
lost  one  wing.  This  may  all  be  true.  But  is  it  a  good  description  of  a  Gothio  window?  " 
—Phelps'  Theory  of  Preaching,  pp.  397,  398. 

3  McCosh's  Logic,  pp.  41,  42. 


194  T^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

est  and  best  that  can  be  obtained.  An  imperfect  view  of 
the  subject  will  not  do.  The  whole  plan  must  have  logical 
firmness  and  carry  with  it  a  weight  of  conviction.  Every 
view  of  the  subject  that  does  not  help  to  establish  the 
proposition  ought  to  be  at  once  rejected.  "At  the  con- 
clusion of  each  head  or  division  of  proof  the  auditor 
should  feel  that  the  proposition  has  received  an  additional, 
and  real  support."  ^  The  sermonizer  should  ask,  "  in  respect 
to  each  and  every  head  or  division,  '  Does  this  proposed 
head  really  tend  to  prove  the  proposition,  and  does  it  aftbrd 
a  positively  new  item  of  proof,  that  is  not  contained  in  any 
other  head?' "2 

3.  Number  of  Divisions.  —  In  the  scholastic  period 
the  sermon  consisted  of  "  excessively  minute  analysis,  and 
multitudinous  divisions,  of  which  it  has  been  wittily  said 
that,  like  the  bones  in  Ezekiel's  valley  of  vision,  'there 
were  very  many — and  they  were  very  dry.'"^  The  ancient 
orators  were  accustomed  to  divide  their  themes  into  numer- 
ous heads  {vonoc).  Aristotle  enumerates  twenty-eight  topics 
as  belonging  to  demonstrative,  deliberative,  and  judicial 
oratory.  Claude  gives  twenty-seven  to  be  used  in  the 
composition  of  a  sermon;  and  even  so  late  a  writer  as 
Gresley  mentions  sixteen.  A  Puritan  preacher  once 
reached  his  "  seventy-sixthly."  * 

I  Shedd's  HomileHcs  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  187.    2  Ibid.,  p.  189. 

3  Dr.  John  Hall,  in  Yale  Lectures,  p.  147. 

4  In  one  of  Bishop  Hall's  sermons  there  are  no  less  than  eighty  heads,  principal 
and  subordinate;  in  one  of  Baxter's,  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  twenty,  besides  a 
formidable  array  of  "improvements."  Charnock's  discourse  on  "The  Being  of  God  " 
has  one  hundred  and  two  divisions.  The  most  amusing  examples  of  this  abuse  ars 
those  recorded  in  Robinson's  notes  to  Claude's  Essay  on  the  Composition  of  a  Semioiy  in 
which  it  is  said  that  a  hundred  years  ago  (from  the  time  of  its  publication  in  1853)  most 
sermons  had  thirty,  forty,  fifty,  or  sixty  particulars.  "  Mr.  Drake's  sermon  has  above 
one  hundred  and  seventy  parts,  besides  queries  and  resolutions;  and  yet  the  good  man 
Bays  he  passed  sundry  usrful  points,  pitching  only  on  that  which  comprehended  the  marroui  and 
eubstanee." — Rogers.  "  I  remember  once  to  have  heard  a  preacher,  on  the  text,  '  Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God,'  announce  in  rapid  succession  tvcenty-four  characteristics  in  which 
men  might  behold  him.  When  he  reached  the  twelfth  there  was  a  look  of  surprise,  and 
at  the  Bizteentb,  of  amazemeat;  when  be  announced  the  twentieth,  a  broad  smile;  and 


The  Topical  Sermon.  195 

This  is  a  breaking  into  fragments  rather  than  a  divid- 
ing. Regarding  an  idea  as  something  like  matter,  that 
is  composed  of  atoms  and  possessed  of  infinite  divisi- 
bility, their  great  fault  consisted  in  pulverizing  the  theme, 
and  thereby  greatly  weakening  its  effect;  for  who  would 
expect  to  accomplish  much  by  throwing  a  handful  of  sand 
at  a  Goliath,  who  can  be  felled  only  with  stones?  The 
divisions  should  be  as  few  as  possible, —  no  more  than  are 
necessary  to  a  complete  treatment  of  the  subject.  ISTo  rule 
can  be  given  as  to  the  number  to  be  employed.  Five  is  a 
maximum,  and  two  a  minimum.  As  stated  above,  under 
the  Proposition,  sometimes  the  nature  of  the  subject  re- 
quires no  division.  Where  division  is  essential,  quality 
and  not  quantity  is  the  rule.  "Fertile  arguments  are  few 
in  number,  but  may  be  made  to  cover  a  wide  extent  of 
surface,  and  furnish  a  great  amount  of  matter,  for  the 
body  of  the  sermon."^  The  thorough  preacher  will  con- 
struct his  sermon  out  of  a  few  granite  bowlders  of  material 
rather  than  out  of  a  mass  of  porous,  spongy  substance. 
He  quarries  his  thoughts  out  of  the  imbedded  rock  with  a 
masterly  hand,  and  does  not  merely  'pick  at  it.  "  There 
are  plans  energetic  and  rich,  which,  applying  the  lever  as 
deeply  as  possible,  raise  the  entire  mass  of  the  subject; 
there  are  others  which  escape  the  deepest  divisions  of  the 

when  he  reached  the  twenty-fourth,  a  suppressed  titter  through  the  whole  congregation." 
— Bishop  Simpson,  in  Yale,  Lectures,  p.  141.  "  An  ancient  conceit  of  the  pulpit  was  that  of 
assigning  to  divisions  some  one  of  the  so-called  '  sacred  '  numbers, — five,  seven,  twelve, 
forty.  The  more  frequent  error  of  this  class  was  one,  relics  of  which  remain  to  this  day. 
It  was  that  of  a  prescribed  threefold  division  in  honor  of  the  Trinity.  ♦■•■•*«'  The  medieval 
mind  saw  trinity  in  every  thing,  from  the  Mosaic  record  of  creation  down  to  a  three- 
leaved  clover.  One  of  the  developments  of  this  fancy  was  that  of  the  Trinitarian  division 
of  a  sermon.  No  matter  what  the  subject,  or  its  mode  of  treatment,  the  sermon  must  be 
confined  or  stretched,  with  procrustean  uniformity,  to  three  parts,  no  more,  and  no  less- 
•  *  *  I  once  heard  a  sermon  before  an  association  of  clergymen  approved  for  consisting  of 
three  general  divisions,  each  of  which  had  three  subdivisions,  each  of  these  being  devel- 
oped with  three  leading  thoughts,  and  all  followed  by  three  inferences  in  the  comlusion, 
and  ending  with  the  Trinitarian  Doxology.  The  preacher  should  have  delivered  it  in  a 
three-cornered  hat.  Such  a  discourse  is  a  miserable  piece  of  trichotomy." — Phelps* 
Theory  of  Preaching,  pp.  382,  383. 

X  Shedd's  Eomiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  190. 


196  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

matter,  and  which  raise,  so  to  speak,  only  one  layer  of  the 
subject."'  It  is  not  necessary  to  multiply  arguments  when 
one  or  two  can  be  made  to  cover  the  entire  scope  of  the 
sermon.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  the  "  Eighteen  Rea- 
sons for  Abuse,"  prepared  by  the  mayor  who,  when  the 
Prince  of  Coude  passed  through  Beune,  together  with  the 
public  authorities  went  to  meet  him  at  the  gates  of  the 
town,  and  after  many  high  compliments  said,  "  To  display 
our  joy  we  wished  to  receive  you  with  the  report  of  nu- 
merous artillery,  but  we  have  not  been  able  for  eighteen 
reasons.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  none;  secondly" — 
"  My  good  friend,"  said  the  prince,  "  the  first  reason  is  sa 
good,  I  will  excuse  the  other  seventeen." 

4.  Arrangement  of  Divisions.  —  The  order  of  divis- 
ions is  essential  to  the  force  of  the  discussion.  The  reason 
why  truly  logical  speakers  are  able  to  make  things  plain 
even  to  the  illiterate,  is  because  they  present  clear  thoughts 
in  a  proper  order.  "What  should  this  order  be  ?  Cicero's 
idea  was,  that  the  stronger  arguments  should  be  placed  at 
the  beginning  and  at  the  end,  while  the  weaker  ones 
should  occupy  an  intermediate  position,  that  in  company 
with  the  others  they  may  escape  detection.^  But  this 
fashion  is  not  to  be  recommended  in  pulpit  oratory.  The 
sacred  character  of  a  sermon  will  not  allow  weak  or 
doubtful  arguments  in  the  body  of  the  discourse,  but 
every  position  taken  ought  to  be  worthy  of  intelligent 
assent.  The  best  order  is  that  which  advances  toward 
a  climax.  The  weaker  and  less  important  points  should 
be  placed  first.  The  preacher  is  supposed  to  have  the 
attention  of  his  audience  at  the  outset;  and  to  hold  or 
intensify  it,  he  must  not  continue  on  an  even  or  descend- 
ing plane,  but  rise  in  the  grandeur  and  force  of  his  argu- 

I  Vinet's  Homilelics,  p.  '27C. 
a  De  Oratwc,  Lib.  U.,  Cap.  77. 


The  Topical  Sermon.  197 

ments.  The  parts  must  be  so  arranged  as  to  support  and 
strengthen  each  other,  every  succeeding  one  receiving 
weight  from  the  preceding  one.  This  arrangement  has 
its  advantage.  "  The  successive  waves  of  emotion  may 
thus  rise  higher  and  higher  to  the  end.  And  besides, 
while  tliought  produces  emotion,  it  is  also  true  that  emo- 
tion reacts  upon  and  quickens  thought,  so  that  the  impres- 
sive application  of  one  division  may  secure  for  the  next  a 
closer  attention."  ^ 

"  The  more  suitable  an  argument  is  to  move  and 
strengthen  the  soul,  the  greater  the  necessity  for  preparing 
the  way  before  it  is  presented."  ^  Hence,  we  should  advance 
from  that  which  affects  the  understanding  to  that  which 
acts  upon  the  will.  Explanation,  then,  which  is  entirely 
an  intellectual  process,  and  confirmation,  a  process  which 
is  addressed  to  the  judgment,  should  prepare  the  way  for 
persuasion — a  moving  of  the  will,  and  the  inciting  to  new 
action.  The  castle  where  dwells  the  strong  man  —  the 
Will  —  can  be  entered  only  through  the  avenues  of  the 
intellect  and  the  sensibilities.  In  effective  arrangement, 
we  regard,  first,  the  idea;  second,  the  action;  or  advance 
from  theory  to  practice.  A  priori  arguments  must  precede 
the  a  ijosteriori;  the  abstract,  the  concrete;  the  negative, 
the  positive;  the  general,  the  particular.  Arrangement 
must  not  be  juxtaposition  of  lateral  parts,  but  a  logical 
sequence  of  internal  unity  and  progress.  "In  discourses 
composed  of  parallel  parts,  there  may  be  progress,  provided 
the  parts  follow  in  the  order  of  their  importance;  but  this 
progress  can  not  be  compared  with  that  of  a  discourse  in 
which,  instead  of  two  or  three  lateral  parts,  everything  is 
successive;  in  which  there  are  not  two  or  three  discourses, 
in  some  sort,  but  one  only,  one  single  train  of  ideas,  the  first 

1  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  272. 

2  Vinet. 


198  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

of  which  produces  the  second,  then  the  third,  and  so  on 
even  to  the  end,  so  that  the  last  pages  share  the  strength 
of  all  which  precede  them,  and  the  weight  of  the  whole 
discourse  rests  upon  the  last  paragraph.  The  progress 
here  is  as  the  accelerated  fall  of  heavy  bodies, —  not  an 
arithmetical  but  a  geometrical  progression."  * 

5.  Subdivisions. —  As  it  is  necessary  to  divide  the  theme, 
so  also  is  it  sometimes  necessary  to  divide  the  divisions. 
The  fewer  the  number  of  the  main  divisions  the  more 
need  is  there  for  subdivisions,  in  order  to  analyze  and  un- 
fold the  leading  thought.^  Usually,  divisions  should  not 
extend  beyond  the  second  degree.  A  sermon  might  thus 
become  divided  and  subdivided  until  it  becomes  a  mere 
skeleton,  without  any  meat  on  it.  "Whatever  subordinate 
divisions  are  introduced,  they  should  all  bear  on  the  general 
drift  of  the  proposition.  Not  only,  so  to  speak,  should  the 
wings  of  the  cherubim  point  to  one  spot,  but  all  that  com- 
poses the  wings  must  incline  in  the  same  direction. 

6.  Transition. —  Transition,  from  the  word  transeo,  to 
go  over,  is  the  act  of  passing  from  one  division  to  another. 
It  has  been  compared  to  the  attachment  of  the  several  parts 
of  a  garment  to  one  another,  thus  making  a  whole  ;^  or,  to 
the  articulation  of  the  members  of  the  human  body.  Since 
transition  has  "  two  opposite  purposes, — one  to  distinguish, 
the  other  to  unite," — it  has  also  been  compared  to  punctu- 
ation, in  written  discourse,  which  "  serves  at  once  to  mark 
the  intervals  and  relations  of  the  thoughts  to  one  another."'' 
But  from  the  derivation  of  the  word,  as  well  as  from  the 
function  it  performs  in  the  sermon,  we  may  call  it  the  pas- 
sage between  the  outlet  and  the  inlet  of  two  adjoining 
parts.     It  begins  at  the  point  of  exit  from  one  argument, 

I  Vinet's  Homiletics,  p.  296. 

3  We  have  an  example  of  this  in  the  first  example  of  sermon-outline,  p.  189. 

3  See  Ripley's  Sacred  Rhetoric,  p.  101. 

4  Of.  Vinet'8  Homiletics,  p.  317. 


The  Topical  Serinojt,  199 

or  division,  and  ends  at  the  entrance  to  another,  and  is 
not  so  much  a  door,  as  the  act  of  passing  through  the 
door.  Discoursing  systematically  upon  a  theme  is  very 
much  like  walking  through  a  house,  in  which  we  examine 
only  one  room  at  a  time,  while  every  other  part  of  the  house 
is  shut  out  of  view  by  partition-walls,  until  we  pass  from 
one  apartment  to  another.  This  act  of  passing  from  one 
part  of  discourse  to  another,  is  called  transition. 

Transition  will  be  easy  or  difficult,  according  to  the 
arrangement  of  the  several  parts.  A  perfect  arrangement 
of  ideas  will  require  no  connecting  link.  The  ideas  are 
hke  Cicero's  "well-cut  stones,"  that  "  are  united  without 
cement."  A  great  defect  is  evident  when  the  leading 
thoughts  are  so  remote  and  isolated  from  each  other  that 
one  must  bridge  chasms  and  tunnel  mountains  in  passing 
from  one  to  the  other.  It  were  better  not  to  strain  a  con- 
nection between  ideas  so  foreign  to  each  other,  for  they 
are  only  echoes  from  difi'erent  quarters,  that  can  never  be 
made  to  blend  into  harmony.  The  ideas  to  be  connected 
should  be  as  akin  as  possible.  But  as  divisions  are  arranged 
in  the  ascending  order,  the  transit  will  be  a  marked  and 
sudden  ascent,  a  stepping-stone,  so  to  speak,  from  a  lower 
to  a  higher  flight.  The  point  in  the  discussion  where  this 
occurs,  claims  attention. 

The  transition  should  be  made  between  the  points  that 
most  nearly  approximate  each  other  in  the  order  of  the 
climax.  Thus,  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Creation,  we  get  the  two  divisions,  Inorganic 
Substance  and  Organic  Substance.  The  proper  place  of 
transit  should  be  between  the  highest  order  of  matter  — 
namely,  luminous, — and  the  lowest  order, of  life, —  namely, 
vegetable.  The  same  rule  should  be  applied  to  subdivisions. 
The  transition  between  vegetable  and  animal  life  is  from 
sea-plants  to  polyps.     The  inferior  reaches  up,  the  superior 


200  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

reaches  down,  and  transition  steps  across  the  interstice.' 
This  method  of  transition  will  maintain  a  regularity  of 
movement  in  a  continuous  ascent. 

Transition  should  be, — 

(1.)  i^atural.  It  should  be  created  without  efibrt  or  arti- 
fice. One  division  should  grow  spontaneously  out  of  the 
other,  and  be  its  necessary  sequence.  When  properly 
connected,  the  two  will  combine,  like  water  on  either  side 
of  a  strait,  and  yet  be  distinct  portions  of  the  sermon. 

(2.)  Short.  Sometimes  a  halt  in  delivery,  or  change  of 
tone  and  position,  will  be  sufficient  to  indicate  a  transition. 
Generally  a  sentence  is  used,  which  should  be  brief,  and 
stated  without  being  given  prominence.  CJsually  a  con- 
necting phrase,  or  word,  is  sufficient, —  such  as,  in  the  next 
place,  still,  further,  again,  besides,  moreover,  firstly,  sec- 
ondly, finally,  etc. 

The  object  of  transition  is  to  "  enhance  the  idea,  or  to 
indicate  a  new  degree  of  intensity,  or  to  extend  the  idea, 
or  to  confirm  the  preceding  idea  by  that  which  follows  it, 
or  to  distinguish,  contrast,  or  subordinate  two  ideas,  or 
introduce  an  objection,  or,  finally,  to  confess  the  insuffi- 
ciency of  an  argument  in  a  given  case."  ^ 

7.  Should  the  Dimsions  be  Stated  Beforehand? — Much  has 
been  said  on  this  question  jpro  and  con,  as  in  the  sacred 
oration  the  divisions  may  be  announced  either  before  the 
discussion,  during  its  progress,  or  at  its  close.  Every 
thoughtful  preacher  must  decide  the  question  for  himself. 
If  the  pre-announcement  will  be  advantageous  to  the 
design  of  his  discourse,  he  should  make  it;  if  not,  he  should 
omit  it.  Unless  the  subject  be  abstract  and  difficult,  the 
divisions,  as  a  rule,  should  not  be  stated.     A  better  way 

X  Without  tho  necessity  of  spontaneous  or  specific  variation,  in  the  evolution  sena* 
of  Haeckel  and  others  of  that  scliool. 
•  Vinet'B  Homiletics,  pp.  319, 320. 


The   Textual  Sermon.  201 

would  be,  not  to  announce  at  tlie  beginning,  but  to  reca- 
pitulate at  the  conclusion.^ 

§    III.      THE    TEXTUAL   SERMON. 

The  textual  sermon  is  one  in  which  the  text  is  divided; 
and  the  divisions,  instead  of  growing  out  of  the  theme,  as 
in  the  topical  sermon,  are  here  suggested  by  the  words  and 
phrases  of  the  text.  The  work  of  skeletonizing  is  thus 
rendered  comparatively  easy,  after  the  text  has  once  been 
thoroughly  studied  and  interpreted.  But  in  textual  preach- 
ing, especially,  this  preparatory  text-study  must  be  no 
small  part  of  the  work  of  sermonizing,  and  should  be  thor- 
oughly accomplished  before  attending  to  disposition. 

This  species  of  sermon  is  preferable  to  the  topical  for 
the  following  reason:  It  is  more  likely  to  secure  a  fair 
expression  of  the  "mind  of  the  Spirit,"  since  the  matter  of 
our  preaching  will  be  the  unadulterated  word  of  God. 
We  have  above  mentioned  the  desecration  of  the  divine 
word  by  the  topical  preaching  during  the  days  of  Scho- 
lasticism. 2  In  our  time,  also,  there  is  danger,  especially 
with  inexperienced  ministers  who  use  the  topical  form,  of 
drifting  away  from  the  moorings  of  the  sacred  Word,  and 
indulging  in  idle  notions  and  ephemeral  speculations. 
When  we  go  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  select  a  portion 
thereof  for  exposition  and  preaching  in  the  textual  form,  we 
yield  ourselves  to  it  as  implicitly  as  did  the  man  who  fol- 
lowed Christ,  when  he  said,  "Lord,  I  will  follow  thee  whith- 
ersoever thou  goest;"  and  we  declare  God's  message  with 
stricter  fidelity  than  was  manifested  by  Balaam,  who  said, 
"  I  can  not  go  beyond  the  word  of  the  Lord  my  God,  to 
Bay^  less  or  more  "  (Num.  xxii.  18),  "but  what  the  Lord 
saith,  that  will  I  speak."     (Num.  xxiv.  13.)     Chrysostom, 

1  Of.  Shedd's  nomileties  aud  Pastoral  Theology,  pp.  195, 196. 

2  See  Part  U.,  Chapter  II.,  The  Text. 

3  "  Do,"  from  context,  evidently  has  the  sense  of  say. 


202  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

who  was  powerful  in  this  style  of  preaching,  used  to  say, 
"  Here  God  speaks  much  and  man  little."  Unquestionably 
the  tendency  of  textual  preaching  is  toward  a  closer  and 
more  implicit  adherence  to  the  ipsissima  verba  of  the  Sa- 
cred Oracle,  and  is,  therefore,  more  strictly  evangelical. 

As  to  divisions,  the  same  rules  will  apply,  in  general,  as 
in  the  topical  sermon,  with  the  exception  that  the  number 
of  divisions  will  depend  upon  the  kind  of  text  and  the 
mode  of  tre&,tment.  The  proposition  is  rarely  used  in  this 
form,  especially  in  the  expository  mode. 

Modes  of  Treating  a  Textual  Discussion.  —  Since  in  the 
textual  plan  the  matter  lies  in  the  language  of  the  text, 
we  must  give  some  additional  suggestions  on  disposition, 
or  mode  of  treatment,  as  applying  to  the  textual  sermon. 

As  in  the  topical  species  every  division  is  a  topic  for 
rhetorical  discussion,  and  a  fraction  in  the  unity  of  the 
theme,  so  in  this  species.  But  in  order  to  give  the  sermon 
a  rhetorical  character,  several  things  must  especially  be 
observed: 

(1.)  The  leading  words  or  ideas  of  the  text  must  possess 
unity. 

(2.)  These  words  or  ideas  must  be  arranged  in  cor- 
respondence to  each  other,  and  in  the  climactic  order  of 
thought. 

(3.)  The  divisions  must  be  expressed  clearly  and  con- 
cisely. 

The  modes  of  division  are  as  many  and  various  as  in  the 
topical  sermon.     We  here,  also,  give  a  few  examples: 

1.  The  divisions  may  be  so  evident  and  natural,  that 
they  are  expressed  in  the  words  of  the  text: 

Text.  —  "But  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love,  these  three; 
and  the  greatest  of  these  is  love."    I.  Cor.  xiii.  13,  E..  V. 

Theme. —  2^he  Three  Graces. 
I.     Faith. 
II.     Hope. 
III.     Love. 


The  Textual  Sermon.  203 

Likewise,  Bourdaloue  has  a  sermon  on  "  The  Sterility  of 
Prayer,"  from  James  iv.  2,  3,  "Ye  hare  not,  because  ye 
ask  not.  Ye  ask,  and  receive  not,  because  ye  ask  amiss," 
with  the  divisions:  (1.)  We  have  not  because  Ave  ask  not, 
(2.)  We  ask,  and  receive  not,  because  we  ask  amiss.  Robert 
S.  Candlish  preached  on  Exodus  i.  6,  with  these  evident 
divisions:  (1.)  Joseph  died;  (2.)  And  all  his  brethren;  (3.) 
And  all  that  generation, 

2.  It  is  often  allowable  to  add  to  the  strictly  textual 
heads,  one  or  more  which  may  be  implied  in  the  text,  or 
context,  or  even  in  some  other  kindred  part  of  scripture. 

Text.  —  "Even  so  every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good 
fruit;  but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit."  Mat- 
thew vii.  17. 

Theme.  —  Good  and  Evil  Trees. 

I.     Trees  that  bring  forth  good  fruit. 
II.     Trees  that  bring  forth  7io  fruit. 
III.     Trees  that  bring  forth  evil  fruit. 

This  order  might  be  inverted  with  equal  effect.  The 
object  of  the  discourse  will  determine  what  order  to  use. 
If  the  preacher  wishes  to  incite  his  hearers  to  a  life  of 
usefulness,  he  will  first  depict  the  sad  life  of  the  evil-doer; 
this  will  give,  by  contrast,  additional  charm  to  its  oppo- 
site—  a  good  life;  second,  the  folly  of  a  useless,  misspent 
life,  that  has  no  fruit,  will  awaken  a  still  stronger  desire 
for  usefulness;  and  these  two  will  prepare  the  way  for  the 
last  division,  the  blessedness  of  an  earnest,  fruitful  life, 
which  is  the  object  of  the  sermon. 

But  on  the  contrary,  if  the  preacher  wishes  to  impress 
his  auditors  with  the  demerits  of  wickedness,  let  him  adopt 
the  opposite  arrangement,  as  in  the  above  form.  Under 
this  arrangement  the  drift  of  thought  will  be:  if  the 
righteous  (good  tree)  after  doing  all  he  can,  is  never- 
theless an  "  unprofitable  servant,"  undeserving  of  heaven 


204  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

and  "  scarcely  saved,"  how  must  it  be  with  the  barren  fig- 
tree,  that  has  no  fruit  at  all?  The  sermon  reaches  its  climax 
in  the  last  division,  the  wages  of  wickedness  in  the  life  of 
the  evil-doer. 

3.  Sometimes  the  divisions  are  not  formed  from  the 
words  of  the  text,  but  consist  of  a  series  of  observations 
upon  it : 

Text.  —  "Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me?"  Acts 
ix.  4. 

Theme.  —  SauVs  Awakening. 

I.     It  is  the  general  character  of  unconverted  men 
to  be  of  a  persecuting  spirit. 

II.     Christ  has  his  eye  upon  persecutors. 

III.  The  kindness  or  injury  done  to  His  people  he 
considers  done  to  himself. 

IV.  The  calls  of  Christ  are  earnest  and  particular, — 
"  Saul,  Saul." 

Y.  Christ  condescends  to  reason  with  Saul, — "  Why 
persecutest  thou  me?"^ 

4.  We  may  emphasize  the  important  words  as  divisions: 
T'ea:^.  —  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Acts  xvi.  30. 
Theme. —  The   Great  Question. 

I.     "  What  must  I  do?" — not  what  would  be  expe- 
dient, convenient,  etc.,  to  do,  but  what  must  be  done? 

II.  "  What  must  /  do  ?  " —  not  some  one  else  for  me, 
—  mother,  sister,  wife,  pastor,  etc., —  but  what  must  I  myself 
do? 

III.  "  What  must   I  do " —  not   meVely   think,   feel, 
wish,  talk  about,  and  weakly  resolve,  but  do? 

IV.  "  To  be  saved.''     Signification  of  salvation. 

We  may  introduce  a  sermon  containing  such  divisions 
by  pressing  the  question,  without  answering  it,  and  by 
insisting  that  one  certain  thing  must  be  done;    and    con- 

I  Beddome. 


The   Textual  Sermon.  205 

elude  with  the  answer,  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

A  similar  mode  of  division  might  be  adopted  with  the 
thrice-repeated  and  searching  question  of  Christ  to  Peter, 
"Simon,  son  of  John,  lovest  thou  me?"  as  follows:  (1.) 
"  Simon,  lovest  thou  me,"  or  only  admire,  esteem,  honor  or 
praise  me?  (2.)  "  Simon,  lovest  iAoz^  me? "  or  is  it  John 
or  Matthew,  who  loves  me?  (3.)  "  Simon,  lovest  thou  me  f  " 
or  is  it  your  father,  mother,  wife,  child,  that  you  love? 
Christ's  injunction  would  form  a  forcible  conclusion  as  a 
test  of  our  love, — "  Feed  my  lambs,"  "  Tend  my  sheep" 
"Feed  my  sheep." 

5.  We  may  analyze  the  text  by  asking  the  questions, 
Who?     What?     When?     Why?     How?  etc. 

Text.  —  "But  seek  ye  first  his  kingdom,  and  his  right- 
eousness; and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 
Matthew  vi.  33,  R.  V. 

Theme.  —  The  Supreme  Object  of  Human  Endeavor. 

I.     What  should  men  seek?      "  His  kingdom  and 
His  righteousness." 

II.     When  shall  it  be  sought?     "  First"  in  order  of 
time,  of  importance,  etc. 

III.  Why?  First,  because  our  Lord  commands  it, — 
"Seek  ye;"  second,  because  hQ  jpromises,  "All  these  things 
shall  be  added  unto  you." 

Care  should  always  be  taken  in  this  interrogatory  mode 
lest  our  division  become  superficial  and  puerile.  Kothing 
is  easier  than  to  make  a  text  give  some  sort  of  answer  to 
a  question.  An  old  divine  preached  from  Ephesians  v.  2, — 
"  And  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  hath 
given  himself  for  us  an  oft'ering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for 
a  sweet-smelling  savor," — and  announced  his  divisions  as 
follows :  "  The  text  presents  to  our  view  seven  considerable 
circumstances.  (1.)  Who?  'Christ.'  (2.)  What?  'Hath 
given.'     (3.)  Whom?    'Himself.'      (4.)    To  whom?     'To 


2o6  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

God.  (5.)  For  whom?  '  For  us.'  (6.)  After  what  man- 
ner? 'An  offering  and  a  sacrifice.'  (7.)  Of  what  effect? 
Of  '  a  sweet-smelling  savor.' " '  Here  the  most  important 
truths  are  so  divided  as  not  only  to  become  weak,  but 
ludicrous.  Beware  of  the  "muck-rake,"  that  gathers 
only  "the  straws  and  little  sticks,"  while  the  precious 
gems  of  truth  are  left  concealed  beneath  the  debris  of  so 
sad  a  text-catastrophe. 

"  A  tact  is  needed  in  the  preacher,  to  discover  the  hidden 
skeleton."  ^  The  preacher  needs,  also,  "  a  talent  to  detect 
*  *  *  *  emphatic  conceptions,  *  *  *  *  or  direct  or  indi- 
rect positions,  in  a  passage  of  scripture.  A  preacher 
destitute  of  this  talent  will  pass  by  many  texts  that,  really, 
are  full  of  the  materials  of  textual  sermonizing.  He  has 
no  eye  to  discover  the  rich  veins  that  lie  concealed  just 
under  the  dull  and  uninteresting  surface.  *  *  *  *  This 
talent,  for  detecting  the  significance  of  scripture,  must  be 
confined  to  the  gist  of  it, — to  the  evident  and  complete 
substance  of  it."  ^     Melville  is  a  model  in  this  tact. 

I  Schleiermacher  calls  superficial  skeletonizing  "spelling"  the  text. 

a  Shedd'3  Homiledcs  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  152.  3  Ibid.,  pp.  152,  153. 


CHAPTER    lY. 

VARIETIES  OF  SERMONS. 

Introductory,  Farewell,  and  Political  Sermong — Sermons  for  Special  Occa- 
sions— Sermons  to  Special  Classes  of  Hearers — Doctrinal  Sermons — 
Historical  or  Biographical  Preaching  —  Practical  and  Experimental 
Sermons  —  Illustrated  Sermons— Funeral  Sermons  —  Out-Door  Ser- 
mons. 

Variety  of  sermons  differs  essentially  from  species  of  ser- 
mons as  presented  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  differ- 
ence is  similar  to  that  which  exists  between  variety  and 
species  in  ordinary  scientific  classification.  Under  the 
genus  sermon  we  have  found  two  species,  —  the  topical 
and  the  textual;  but  under  these  two  species  there  exists 
a  vast  variety  of  pulpit  discourses  peculiar  to  certain  sub- 
jects, occasions,  hearers,  and  objects  of  discussion,  each  of 
which  may  be  classified  under  one  or  the  other,  or  both,  of 
these  two  broad  species. 

Variety  is  necessary  if  one  wishes  to  maintain  freshness 
in  his  preaching.  Especially  in  this  day  of  many  sermons 
must  we  avoid  monotony  of  methods,  and  present  Bible 
truth  in  a  variety  of  ways.  It  is  an  evil  when  preachers 
fall  into  "  ruts,"  and  produce,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  dis- 
courses remarkable  for  nothing  but  sameness.  It  is  an 
indication  of  indifference  and  indolence.^ 

Variety,  indeed,  marks  all  the  works  of  Divinity.  Nat- 
ure and  man,  as  well  as  the  Bible,  are  in  themselves  end- 

I  stereotyped  preachers  remind  one  of  a  certain  minister,  who,  when  asked  by  a 
waiter  how  he  wished  his  meat  cooked,  replied,  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 
The  first  two  words  threw  him  into  the  groove,  and  he  had  to  go  on  to  the  end. 

207 


2oS  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

lessly  diversified.  "  The  wonderful  flexibility  of  the  gospel, 
its  adaptation  to  the  forms  of  society,  to  characters,  posi- 
tions, the  most  diverse  mental  tendencies,  is  no  feeble  indi- 
cation of  its  divine  origin;"'  and  preaching,  which  draws 
its  inspiration  and  material  from  all  these  sources,  to  be 
true  to  nature  and  revelation,  must  also  be  diversified. 

The  same  "  old,  old  story"  may  thus  be  always  made 
new.  Our  motto  should  be,  "One  theme,  but  many  modes." 
The  most  original  thinker  can  not  create  new  gospel  truth. 
The  best  he  can  do  is  to  bring  it  to  light  in  a  multiplicity 
of  ways.  ISTever  preach  the  same  doctrine  in  the  same 
way;  but  tax  your  inventiveness  to  the  utmost  to  bring 
forth  from  the  Lord's  treasury  "things  both  new  and  old." 

We  will  now  proceed  to  comment  on  some  of  the  vari- 
ous kinds  of  sermons. 

§   I.      INTRODUCTORY,  FAREWELL,  AND    POLITICAL    SERMONS. 

Introductory  and  farewell  sermons  of  itinerants,  preached 
at  the  beginning  and  termination  of  their  pastorate  on  a 
charge,  or  at  the  eve  of  or  return  from  a  summer  vacation, 
have  become  a  fashion  rather  than  a  real  necessity  of  the 
pulpit;  yet  they  are  admissible  on  the  ground  that  they 
furnish  occasions  for  variety  in  the  presentation  of  truth. 

While  the  first  sermon  on  a  new  field  of  labor  should  be 
carefully  prepared  with  reference  to  the  propriety  of  the 
occasion,  it  should  not  aim  at  anything  extraordinary  in 
efibrt,  lest  the  minister  disappoint  his  congregation  by 
promising  them  too  much.  Trial  sermons  have  long  since 
proved  a  failure;  for  the  applicant,  in  a  strong  attempt 
"to  do  his  best,"  will  oftener  either  surpass  himself  or 
discount  himself  than  he  himself.  The  people  should 
always  be  given  an  opportunity  to  estimate  a  new  minister 
at  par  value. 

X  Vinet's  Homileiics,  p.  96. 


Sermons  for  Special  Occasions.  209 

Again,  the  preacher  may  sometimes  have  occasion  to 
preach  upon  the  current  practices  and  vices  of  the  day, 
such  as  popular  amusements,  novel  -  reading,  etc.  And 
here  we  should  add  a  remark  upon  the  question,  May  the 
minister  ever  preach  upon  'political  subjects  f  Politics,  in  the 
ordinary  sense,  which  interests  itself  in  political  parties  and 
campaigns,  should  never  be  discussed  in  the  pulpit.  But 
there  is  a  higher  science  of  politics,  consisting  in  the  appli- 
cation of  ethics  and  Christianity  to  human  citizenship  and 
government,  which  it  becomes  not  only  the  preacher's 
privilege,  but  his  duty,  to  advocate  in  his  public  minis- 
tration whenever  the  cause  of  religious  freedom  and  integ- 
rity demand  it. 

Of  the  proper  homiletical  use  of  such  politics  in  preach- 
ing, we  quote  four  principles  from  Hoppin:  "(1.)  A  recog- 
nition of  God  as  the  moral  governor  of  nations  and  source 
of  national  authority.  (2.)  A  recognition  of  the  universal 
brotherhood  and  equality  of  man  in  civil  rights;  requiring 
rulers  to  enact  such  laws  as  bear  equally  on  the  whole  pop- 
ulation. (3.)  The  inculcation  of  the  moral  law  of  God  as 
the  supreme  guide  in  all  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive 
business  of  our  public  officers,  and  in  all  political  action  of 
private  citizens.  (4.)  The  historic  proof  of  absolute  cer- 
tainty of  the  retribution  for  national  crimes."^ 

§   n.      SERMONS   FOR   SPECIAL    OCCASIONS. 

1.  Holidays,  such  as  Christmas,  Easter,  national  Thanks- 
giving-day, watch-nights,  New- Year,  etc.  The  preaching 
of  sermons  on  such  festival-days,  appropriate  to  the  occa- 
sion, often  adds  impressiveuess  to  the  truth  by  associating 
it  more  directly  with  some  important  event  of  which  the 
day  is  commemorative.  In  the  medieval  period,  when  the 
church  was  corrupt,  festivals  became  excessively  numerous, 

X  HomUetici,  p.  700. 


2IO  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

and  abusive,  by  the  addition  of  holidays  and  services  m 
memory  of  saints  and  martyrs;  and  the  preaching  on  most 
of  these  memorial  occasions  was  trivial  and  absurd.  "And 
at  the  Easter  season  especially,  preachers  taxed  their  inge- 
nuity to  invent  all  kinds  of  folly  and  vulgar  witticisms,  to 
amuse  the  audience."^  Such  abuse  of  Christian  festivals  we 
need  not  here  stop  to  reprove,  as  they  would  not  be  toler- 
ated in  our  modern  Protestant  churches;  but  a  proper 
observance  of  certain  Christian  holidays  by  preaching  to 
the  people  is  consistent  with  a  becoming  reverence  for 
Christian  institutions. 

2.  Miscellaneous  Occasions.  Anniversary,  dedicatory, 
and  memorial  sermons,  which  are  generally  preached  to 
crowded  houses,  have  a  common  fault  —  they  are  too 
lengthy,  and  monopolize  too  much  of  the  services  of  the 
hour.  They  should  be  solid  and  ponderous  rather  than 
porous  and  bulky. 

Sermons  before  conventions,  conferences,  colleges,  and 
various  literary,  secular,  and  rehgious  associations,  should 
be  gospel  sermons.  Broadus'  remarks  on  academic  sermons 
are  so  fitting  that  we  here  quote  them  almost  entire :  "  Ser- 
mons at  institutions  of  learning,  or  on  occasions  of  literary 
interest,  are  often  managed  in  a  very  mistaken  fashion. 
The  preacher  imagines  that  he  must  not  give  a  regular 
gospel  sermon,  but  must  betake  himself  to  matters  highly 
erudite  or  metaphysical.  It  is  really  desirable  on  such 
occasions  to  preach  upon  eminently  evangelical  topics, 
the  very  heart  of  the  gospel.  Science  and  erudition  are 
the  every-day  work  of  these  professors  and  students;  from 
you,  to-day,  they  had  much  rather  hear  something  else. 
*  *  *  *  Of  course  the  sermon  should  have  point,  force, 
freshness;  and  the  associations  of  the  occasion  may  some- 
times suggest  slight  peculiarities  of  allusion,  illustration, 

t  Hoppin's  HomUetics,  p.  138. 


Sermons  to  Special  Classes  of  Hearers.        211 

and  style;  but  it  ought  to  be  a  sermon  full  of  Christ,  full 
of  prayerful  zeal  to  save  souls.  Ah!  as  one  looks  over 
those  hundreds  of  intelligent  young  faces,  and  his  heart 
goes  out  to  them  in  sympathy  and  love, — as  he  thinks  what 
a  power  they  will  be  in  the  world  for  good  or  for  evil,  and 
how  they  are  all  there  present  before  God,  to  hear  his  mes- 
sage, he  must  surely  feel  an  unwonted  emotion,  a  solemn 
sense  of  privilege  and  responsibility;  and  if  never  before, 
there  ought  to  be  true  of  him  then,  those  words  of  Bax- 
ter,— 

*I  preached  as  never  sure  to  preach  again, 
And  as  a  dying  man  to  dying  men."'i 

Many  special  providential  occurrences,  such  as  pestilence, 
flood,  fire,  and  great  public  calamities  or  blessings,  may 
be  made  the  subjects  of  effective  discourse.  The  preacher 
thus  becomes  an  interpreter  of  Providence,  and  impresses 
the  moral  lessons  which  God  is  thus  teaching  in  the  events 
of  the  world.  Goethe  remarks  that  the  earthquake  at 
Lisbon  continued  for  a  long  time  to  be  a  topic  of  interest. 
Oreat  events,  such  as  the  wreck  at  Ashtabula,  the  sinking 
of  the  Villa  du  Havre,  the  conflagrations  of  Chicago  and 
Boston,  and  the  assassination  of  Garfield,  have  elicited,  all 
over  the  land,  a  discussion  of  providence.  ISTot  only  in 
pulpits  and  prayer-meetings,  but  in  all  the  circles  of  soci- 
ety, discussions  upon  such  startling  events  at  a  time  when 
the  occurrence  is  yet  fresh  in  the  minds  of  men,  will  aid 
greatly  in  the  inculcation  of  religious  doctrine  and  in  the 
building  up  of  a  real  life  of  piety. 

§   ni.      SERMONS    TO    SPECIAL    CLASSES   OF   HEARERS. 

Every  audience  is  an  assembly  of  miscellaneous  hear- 
ers, representing  various  conditions  of  life,  occupations, 
and  professions.      The   same  gospel   is   intended  for  all 

I  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  pp.  113, 114. 


212  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermo7i. 

alike,  as  an  elixir  vitcBj  possessing  saving  virtue  for  each, 
and  offering  a  panacea  for  every  variety  of  ills;  but  there 
are  times  when  the  gospel,  like  the  materia  medica,  needs 
special  application  by  prescription  to  individual  cases. 
Many  of  our  sermons  which  are  for  everybody  in  general, 
are  for  nobody  in  particular.  They  meet  a  universal  want, 
but  overlook  the  propriam  personam.  It  would  not  be  proper 
to  preach  an  entire  sermon  to  each  special  individual  by 
sometimes  addressing  but  a  single  person;  but  it  is  expe- 
dient occasionally  to  address  groups  of  individuals  whose 
experience  is  sui  generis,  and  whose  needs,  in  the  main, 
are  essentiall}''  the  same. 

The  setting  apart  of  a  service  for  a  special  class  in  the 
community,  and  the  devotion  of  a  whole  sermon  to  their 
benefit,  will  not  only  interest  them  and  secure  their  pres- 
ence in  church,  but  call  out  an  extra  attendance  of  other 
interested  hearers.  Congregations  are  generally  unusually 
large  on  such  occasions.  People  are  more  interested  in 
hearing  a  gospel  sermon  applied  to  a  prescribed  class  than 
to  a  single  person  individually,  or  to  all  persons  collectively. 
The  preacher,  of  course,  being  acquainted  with  the  com- 
munity in  which  his  church  is  located,  will  know  what 
classes  need  such  special  preaching.  Among  the  many,  we 
mention  a  few,  such  as  are  found  iu  every  locality. 

1.  The  Young.  By  the  young  we  mean  such  as  have 
passed  the  period  of  childhood,  and  are  now  entering 
upon  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  life.  Sermons  to 
them  will  therefore  differ  materially  from  those  addressed 
to  children. 

A  sermon  to  the  young  should  aim  to  give  the  best 
counsel,  to  inspire  them  with  a  high  ideal  of  life,  and  to 
persuade  them  to  a  life  of  piety  and  faith  in  God.  In  their 
presence,  vice  should  be  painted  in  the  blackest  colors  and 
virtue  clothed  in  its  most  princely  robes.     If  character  is 


Sermons  to  Special  Classes  of  Hearers.        213 

formed  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty -one,  we 
can  not  be  too  earnest  in  exhorting  them  to  beware  of  the 
many  alluring  temptations  which  lie  in  the  road  to  hon- 
orable success,  and  which  have  ruined  many  physically, 
mentally,  and  morally.  Decision  of  character,  the  possi- 
bilities of  life,  the  morals  of  the  different  professions,  and 
many  questions  which  are  of  interest  to  one  in  this  period 
of  life,  are  proper  subjects  when  discussed  in  the  light  of 
Revelation.  The  story  of  David  and  Goliath,  the  raising 
of  the  widow's  son,  the  parables  of  the  talents  and  of  the 
prodigal  son,  have  been  made  the  subjects  of  many  edify- 
ing discourses  to  the  young;  and  yet  there  are  many  new 
topics  in  Bible  history,  Bible  biography  and  incidents, 
that  have  never  been  used  in  this  application. 

The  preacher  must  be  animated  and  cheerful  in  his  man- 
ner, and  interesting  in  his  style,  before  a  youthful  congre- 
gation. The  sermon  must  be  brief  and  practical,  and 
rendered  sprightly  by  the  use  of  anecdote  and  stirring 
facts.  Kothiug  wearies  an  audience  of  young  folks  more 
than  dullness  and  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  the  speaker. 

2.  The,  Aged,  Youth  and  age  represent  the  opposite 
extremes  of  life.  Youth  is  the  exordium,  age  the  con- 
clusion, of  life's  experience.  The  one  is  the  complement 
of  the  other;  but  what  a  contrast  between  these  antipodes 
of  life!  A  sermon,  therefore,  to  the  first  class  will  be 
mainly  prospective,  while  to  the  second  it  will  be  retro- 
spective. In  the  one  case  the  sermon  is  a  discourse  on 
life's  seed-time;  in  the  other,  on  life's  harvest. 

A  young  minister  with  little  experience  should  honor  the 
aged,  but  should  exercise  reserve  in  preaching  specially  to 
them,  lest  he  be  regarded  presumptuous  by  his  aged  hear- 
ers. From  the  elderly  clergy  such  preaching  comes  not 
only  with  more  grace,  but  with  more  weight. 

A  long  life  full  of  good  fruits,  and  venerable  in  piety,  is 


214  "^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

full  of  inspiring  suggestions  for  the  material  of  a  discourse; 
while  the  barren  fig-tree,  -aged  in  wickedness,  should  be 
admonished  and  strongly  urged  to  immediate  repentance, 
and  improvement  of  the  few  remaining  sands  of  life. 

3.  The  Sisters.  '  Since  woman  has  distinguished  her- 
self, not  only  in  literature,  but  in  the  temperance  and  mis- 
sionary and  various  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  church, 
and  has  always  been  so  prominent  in  the  home  influences, 
she  demands  special  recognition  by  the  pulpit.  Christ, 
after  bestowing  his  encomium  upon  the  woman  who,  from 
an  alabaster  cruse,  anointed  his  feet  with  costly  spike- 
nard, seems  to  have  enjoined  this  duty  when  he  said, 
"Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be 
preached  throughout  the  whole  world,  this  also  that  she 
hath  done  shall  be  spoken  of  for  a  memorial  of  her." 
(Mark  xiv.  9.)  # 

The  pulpit  owes  a  tribute  of  praise  and  words  of  encour- 
agement especially  to  our  mothers,  whose  province  it  is, 
amid  tears  and  sorrows,  to  impart  those  early  lessons  of 
virtue  and  to  implant  those  habits  of  uprightness  on  which 
the  whole  future  of  life  depends,  and  which,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  when  once  received  will  never  be  forgotten. 
As  the  fountain  is  before  the  stream,  the  seed  before  the 
plant,  so  the  family  is  before  the  state  or  the  church;  and 
here,  we  should  teach  her,  is  the  reign  of  her  silent,  but 
powerful  empire.  If  "  she  that  rocks  the  cradle  rules  the 
world,"  then  our  mothers,  in  an  important  sense,  are  our 
rulers.  Their  boys  will  be  our  preachers,  bishops,  legisla- 
tors, governors,  and  presidents;  and  these  will  be  just  what 
their  mothers  make  them  at  home.  What  woman  would 
not  prefer  the  honor  of  Monica,  or  of  the  mothers  of  Wash- 
ington and  Wesley,  to  the  glory  of  Queen  Victoria! 

4.  The  Young  Converts.  After  a  revival  -  season,  and 
sometimes  during   its   progress  if   of   long   continuance. 


Sermons  to  Special  Classes  of  Hearers.       215 

when  perhaps  many  have  commenced  the  new  life  in 
Christ,  it  is  necessary  that  for  some  time  they  be  faithfully 
instructed  from  the  pulpit  in  things  pertaining  to  their 
new  relations.  There  is  no  period  in  a  Christian's  life  when 
he  needs  so  much  advice,  admonition,  instruction,  and 
patient  nurture  as  at  the  commencement  of  his  new  experi- 
ence. Everything  is  new  to  him,  and  perhaps  he  has  little 
idea  of  the  nature  of  Christian  doctrines  and  duties.  He 
lives  as  yet  in  the  ideal  of  Christianity,  and  needs  prepa- 
ration for  the  actual  reality  of  "fighting  the  good  fight 
of  faith "  which  is  just  now  to  begin.  It  is  one  thing 
to  enlist  recruits  in  an  army,  and  another  thing  to  train 
them  for  active  service  on  the  battle-field. 

The  nature  of  the  instruction  given  to  young  converts 
is  very  important.  Their  Christian  character  through  life 
will  be  largely  molded  by  it,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
change  first  impressions  received  immediately  after  their 
conversion.  If  the  instruction  be  defective  either  in  kind 
or  degree,  it  will  manifest  itself  all  through  their  future 
lives;  their  character  will  be  dwarfed  and  their  piety  will 
soon  decline.  "  These  are  your  periodical  Christians,  that 
are  so  apt  to  wake  up  in  a  time  of  revival,  and  bluster 
about  as  if  they  had  the  zeal  of  an  angel,  a  few  days,  and 
then  die  away  as  dead  and  cold  as  a  northern  winter."  ^ 

A  sermon  to  young  converts,  then,  should  nourish  them 
first  with  "  the  spiritual  milk"  of  the  gospel  (I.  Peter  ii.  2), 
as  babes  in  Christ,  without  experience  "in  the  word  of 
righteousness,"  before  feeding  them  upon  the  "solid  food" 
of  doctrine,  which  is  for  full-grown  men,  "  even  those  who 
by  reason  of  use  have  their  senses  exercised  to  discern 
both  good  and  evil."  (Heb.  v.  13,  14.)  It  should  set  before 
them  a  high  standard  of  Christian  piety,  directing  them 
to  look  to  Christ  for  their  perfect  model,  instead  of  follow- 

z  Finney's  RemMol  Lectures,  p.  408. 


2i6  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

ing  any  false  standard,  or  any  human  pattern.  It  should 
teach  them  in  what  true  religion  consists  —  urge  them  tc 
become  workers  in  the  church,  and  to  aim  at  duty  and 
usefulness,  rather  than  at  the  comforts  and  rewards  which 
religion  afibrds.  It  ought  strongly  to  influence  them  to  ac* 
from  principle  and  not  from  emotion;  to  do  right  not 
because  they  feel  like  it,  but  because  it  is  right.  It  should 
incite  them  to  moral  courage,  so  as  never  to  be  afraid  or 
ashamed  to  do  right  under  any  circumstances,  and  to  say 
"no"  in  the  hour  of  temptation.  It  should  exhort  them  to 
prayer  and  attendance  upon  the  means  of  grace,  and  warn 
them  as  to  their  associations,  conduct,  and  example. 

Such  preaching  to  young  converts  will  lay  a  good  founda- 
tion for  the  structure  of  a  religious  and  permanent  Chris- 
tian character,  that  will  stand  the  threefold  test  of  one's 
faith;  for  when  the  "rains"  of  divine  chastising  from 
above  descend,  when  the  "floods"  of  earthly  temptation 
from  below  come,  and  when  the  "  winds  "  of  Satan's  fury 
blow  and  beat  against  that  house,  it  will  stand,  because  it 
is  "  founded  upon  a  rock."  Christ's  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
is  the  best  for  young  soldiers  of  the  cross. 

5.  The  Various  Professions  and  Occupations.  In  preach- 
ing to  men  of  the  diflbrent  professions  and  occupations  in 
life,  such  as  lawyers,  doctors,  merchants,  tradesmen,  day- 
laborers,  etc.,  we  may  adapt  ourselves  to  them  by  address- 
ing them  in  the  thought  or  language  peculiar  to  their 
respective  pursuits,^  provided  the  thought  or  language 
adopted  be  not  excessive  or  ridiculous,  but  illustrative  of 
the  truth. 

I  Father  Taylor,  the  sailor  pfeacher,  was  particularly  noted  for  such  adaptation.  On 
one  occasion,  while  preaching  to  seamen,  he  was  led  at  some  length  into  certain  philo- 
sophical discussion  somewhat  abstruse,  when,  suddenly  stopping  and  looking  up  under 
his  palm  as  if  just  discovering  that  he  was  drifting  into  the  norttiern  sea  of  motapliysical 
argument,  he  raised  his  strong  hand,  and  in  the  tone  of  command  called  out,  "  Hard 
down  the  helral  I've  lost  my  reckoning  1  We're  in  the  region  of  icebergs.  I  think  I 
know  my  way  yet.  I  am  going  to  make  for  the  nearest  point.  I  meant  to  have  swept 
you  around  through  other  seas.    But  there  is  no  time  now;  our  miserable  drift  among 


Doctrinal  Sermons.  217 

§    IV.      DOCTRINAL    SERMONS. 

A  doctrine  ^  is  Dot  au  opiniou,  but  a  teaching  whicli  the 
church  has  adopted  as  a  matter  of  Christian  faith.  "It 
finds  its  material  in  the  Word  of  God  on  the  one  hand,  on 
the  other  it  makes  the  Word  of  God  the  criterion  of  the 
results  of  its  work  upon  that  material."  ^ 

Some  object  to  doctrinal  preaching;  but  Paul  says, 
*' Reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long- suffering,  and 
doctrine.  For  the  time  will  come  when  they  will  not 
endure  sound  doctrine;  but  after  their  own  lusts  shall 
they  heap  to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching  ears; 
and  they  shall  turn  away  their  ears  from  the  truth,  and 
shall  be  turned  unto  fables."  What  is  the  gospel  but  a 
system  of  doctrines  that  contain  the  great  principles,  facts, 
and  truths  which  were  taught  by  the  Great  Teacher,  and 
which  he  directs  his  servants  to  teach  to  others?  Take 
these  away  and  what  is  left  to  preach?  "  Let  the  doc- 
trines preached  by  Christ  and  the  apostles,  the  doctrines 
which  constituted  the  glory,  the  efhcacy,  the  essence  of 
the  gaspel,  be  generally  excluded  from  the  pulpit  for  one 
half  century,  and  the  night  of  paganism  would  again 
spread  its  gloomy  shades  over  Christendom."  ^ 

There  is  an  aversion  to  doctrinal  preaching  on  the 
ground  that  religion  is  a  life  and  not  a  doctrine.  This 
is  a  grave  error.  True,  religion  is  a  life;  but  that  life  has 
its  root  and  origin  in  doctrine.  There  can  be  no  living 
religious  faith  and  feeling  except  in  relation  to  doctrine. 
No  one  can  have  a  true  religious  life  without  believing  the 
truths  of  the  existence  of  a  God,  of  a  Christ,  justification 

the  bergs  has  used  up  our  voyage.  Ah!  I'm  a  poor  captain,  and  careless;  wonder  I 
hadn't  wrecked  youl  But  it's  not  too  late.  If  you  will  stand  by  me  a  little  longer  I 
will  bring  you  safe  into  port;  and  it  shall  be  a  blessed  port,  where  the  way  they  praisa 
God  is  by  loving  his  children." 

I  A  teaching,  that  which  is  taught;  from  the  Latin  word  docere. 

a  McClintock's  Methudology,  p.  80. 

3  E.  Porter's  Lectures  on  Homileiics,  p.  73. 


2i8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

by  faith,  regeneration,  personal  obligation,  etc.  These 
objective  truths  are  doctrines,  and  these  doctrines  are  the 
solid  foundation  of  a  true  Christian  life.  The  fuller  and 
clearer  our  conceptions  and  convictions  of  these  truths, 
the  deeper  will  be  our  religious  life,  which  is  evident  from 
the  historical  fact  that  every  religious  reformation  has 
been  first  a  reformation  of  doctrine,  and  then  of  religious 
experience.  The  heart  is  moved  through  the  understand- 
ing. The  more  fully  a  truth  is  comprehended,  the  greater 
will  be  its  influence  upon  the  life.  Hence,  no  preacher  can 
expect  to  inculcate  a  deep-seated  piety — such  as  will  be 
proof  against  various  temptations — without  occasionally, 
and  sometimes  frequently,  devoting  a  sermon  to  the 
thorough  indoctrinating  of  his  hearers  in  the  fundamental 
truths  of  Christianity.  A  superficial  religion  is  based 
solely  upon  emotions  instead  of  upon  great  controlling 
doctrines.  "  The  attempt  to  edify  the  church  without 
doctrinal  instruction,  is  like  the  attempt  to  build  a  house 
without  foundation  or  frame-work.  Let  any  in  derision 
call  doctrines  '  bones,'  if  they  will.  What  sort  of  a  body 
would  that  be  which  was  flesh  and  blood,  without  bones? 
If  any  present  them  in  skeleton  nakedness,  divested  of 
their  vital  relations  to  life  and  experience,  this  is  the  fault 
of  those  who  do  it,  not  of  true  and  proper  doctrinal  preach- 
ing, which,  on  one  of  its  sides,  is  practical  and  experi- 
mental. In  fact,  the  two  should  never  be  torn  asunder  any 
more  than  the  flesh  and  bones."  ^ 

As  to  the  matter,  some  doctrines  are  too  fertile  to  be 
embraced  in  one  sermon,  and  should  therefore  be  consid- 
ered in  several  sermons,  or  in  a  series.  Several  texts  may 
be  necessary  in  treating  even  the  various  divisions  of  a 
doctrine.      In   apologetic^  preaching,  we  should   seek   to 

I  J.  W.  Alexander's   Thoughts  on  Preaching. 

a  This  is  based  on  the  evidences  of  Cliristianity,  and  is  a  defense  against  hostile 
attacks  from  without  tlie  church. 


Historical  or  Biographical  Preaching.        219 

establish  upon  thorough  principles  the  doctrines  of  the 
Bible,  rather  than  to  refute  objections.  On  topics  of  Chris- 
tian ethics,^  we  may  preach  frequently;  but  in  polemic^ 
preaching  we  should  indulge  rarely.  "  The  proper  con- 
ti'oversy  of  the  pulpit  is  controversy  with  sin,  whi.ch  is  the 
great  heresy.  That  of  symbol  with  symbol,  of  church 
with  church,  is,  in  general,  unseemly."  ^  The  staple  sub- 
stance of  doctrinal  preaching  should  be  that  of  human 
redemption  in  all  its  wide-spread  ramifications  and  rela- 
tions as  accomplished  by  Christ  in  his  life,  death,  and 
resurrection. 

As  to  the  manner  of  doctrinal  preaching,  we  know  of 
no  better  advice  than  that  given  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Alexander: 
"  Treat  doctrine  -practically.  Preach  Bible  doctrine  voiih 
passion.     Avoid  abstractions.     Intersperse  anecdotes." 

§    V.      HISTORICAL    OR  BIOGRAPHICAL   PREACHING. 

JS^early  all  persons  love  to  see  truth  in  living  forms;  and 
the  lessons  from  sacred  history  and  biography  are  doubly 
interesting.  "History  is  the  written  world — human  nat- 
ure in  relief."*  It  is  the  method  which  God  often  employs 
to  instruct  the  people,  as  is  seen  from  biblical  history,  as 
well  as  from  other  records  of  both  ancient  and  modern 
nations.^ 

"  JSTothing  so  interests  us  all  as  a  person.  ITo  inanimate 
object,  or  general  proposition,  will  make  much  impression 
upon  mankind  at  large,  unless  it  is  personified  or  imper- 
sonated, or  invested  with  some  personal  interest.  The  poet, 
delighting  in  nature,  instinctively  feels  as  if  communing 

1  The  discussion  of  the  grounds  and  requirements  of  Christian  duty. 

2  Controversy  within  the  church. 

3  Vinet's  Homiletics,  p.  78. 

4  Lamartine. 

5  Walker,  in  many  parts  of  his  Philosophy  of  the  Plan  of  Salvation,  illustrates  Diony- 
•ius'  saying  that  "  history  is  philosophy  teaching  by  example."  There  are  also  many 
other  works  showing  the  "Hand  of  God  in  History." 


220  The  P7'eacher  and  His  Sermon. 

with  a  person.  Even  so  abstract  a  thing  as  a  system  of 
philosophy,  is  usually  remembered  in  connection  with  a 
personal  teacher.  A  benevolent  enterprise  seldom  takes 
much  hold  on  the  popular  mind,  unless  it  is  associated 
with  some  honored  man,  its  embodiment  and  representa- 
tive. *  *  *  *  Xow  the  Bible  not  only  consists  very  largely 
of  history,  but  the  greater  part  of  its  history  is  really 
biography,  the  story  of  individual  lives,  exhibiting  the 
most  various  and  instructive  examples  of  character,  both 
good  and  bad,  of  both  sexes,  and  of  every  condition  in 
life."  ^  The  human  heart  demands  something  of  that  tangi- 
ble illustration  which  attends  the  concerns  of  real  life. 
The  (Edipus  Tyrannus  and  the  Antigone  have  had  more 
of  molding  influence  upon  the  moral  character  of  men 
than  have  Aristotle's  or  Hickok's  Ethics.  By  changing 
the  abstract  into  the  concrete,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing, 
transforming  precept  into  history,  an  idea  is  made  simple 
and  attractive.  In  what  way  do  we  form  the  most  vivid 
conceptions  of  faith,  repentance,  devotion?  N"ot  by  dis- 
coursing upon  them  with  arguments  and  precepts,  but  by 
illustrating  them  in  the  examples  of  Abraham  oft'ering  up 
Isaac,  of  Peter  weeping  bitterly  over  the  denial  of  his 
Lord,  of  Daniel  braving  the  terrors  of  the  lions'  den. 
Men  would  rather  listen  to  the  biography  of  a  miser  than 
to  a  discourse  upon  the  subject  of  avarice. 

The  great  object  of  biographical  preaching  is  to  analyze 
character  and  motive;  to  measure  influence  and  estimate' 
teaching  and  example.  To  do  this,  one  must  study  the 
character  of  the  age  and  surroundings  in  which  the  per- 
son lived,  and  the  contemporary  events  and  personages; 
must  be  acquainted  with  the  history  and  customs  of  the 
country,  and  bring  together  all  the  relative  scripture-infor- 
mation, in  order  that  the  description  may  be  true  to  facts. 

I  Broadus,  Preparation  and  Delivery  uf  Sermons,  p.  106. 


Practical  and  Experimental  Sermons.         221 

The  common  method  adopted  in  describing  a  character 
or  a  series  of  events,  is  to  follow  a  chronological  order  and 
relate  occurrences  as  they  stand  connected  in  time.  But 
here  we  must  avoid  the  difficulty  which  arises  from  a  tend- 
ency either  to  undue  brevity  or  to  prolixity  in  the  narrative. 
Another  difficulty  arises  from  the  number  of  miscellane- 
ous remarks  commonly  suggested  by  an  historical  subject. 
It  is  not  proper,  except  on  funeral  or  memorial  occasions, 
to  take  any  but  Bible  characters  for  subjects  of  sermons.^ 

§   VI.      PRACTICAL   AND    EXPERIMENTAL    SERMONS. 

Christianity  is  a  practice  as  well  as  an  experience.  It  is, 
as  to  its  manifestation,  the  visible  objective  reality  of  a 
subjective  truth  or  doctrine,  which  makes  us  "  lights  of 
the  world,"  and  "  doers  of  the  word  "  in  life  and  exam- 
ple. "  Practice  is  the  great  test  of  the  power  of  precept," 
and  preaching  is  the  jprimum  mohile  to  Christian  practice. 
Preaching  should  be  an  enforcement  of  precept,  a  weighing 
of  actions  or  current  practices  in  the  balances  of  divine 
truth,  and  a  treatment  of  human  experiences,  duties, 
and  practices  in  a  way  that  touches  the  bosoms  and 
business  of  men.  "  When  preaching  is  experimental 
in  its  character  it  is  peculiarly  interesting  to  a  devout 
audience.  They  enjoy  it  exceedingly.  It  fixes  their 
attention,  secures  their  edification,  benefits  their  hearts. 
And  such  preaching  comes  with  power  to  the  generality 
of  hearers."  ^ 


1  The  following  books  on  Bible  biography  will  be  found  serviceable :  Guthrie's  Studies 
of  Character,  Candlish's  Scripture  Characters,  Chapin's  CharacteiS  in  tkeGospek,  Baldwin's 
Representative  Men  of  the  New  Testament,  Robinson's  Scripture  Characters,  Hall's  Contempla- 
tiom,  Hunter's  Sacred  Biography,  Stanley's  Scripture  Portraits  and  Kings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.  Cox's  Female  Characters  of  Holy  Writ,  Wilberforce's  Heroes  of  Hebrew  History.  On 
special  characters  of  Bible  biography  may  be  consulted:  Smith  on  Moses,  Dykes  on 
Abraham,  Lawson  on  Joseph,  or  Dykes  From  the  Prison  to  the  Throne,  Dodds  on  The 
Judge",  Bruce  on  Samson,  Krummacher  or  Taylor  on  Elijah,  Blaikie  or  Taylor  on  David, 
McCrip  on  Esther,  Conybeare  and  Howson,  or  Farrar,  on  Paul. 

2  'Tl  tUace,  quoted  by  Kidder,  in  Honiiletics,  p.  278. 


222  The  Preacher  ajid  His  Sermon, 

In  such  a  wide  field  of  topics  as  is  embraced  under 
practical  and  experimental  preaching,  there  need  be  no 
lack  of  subject-matter.  The  Scriptures,  biographies,  prov- 
idential events,  personal  experiences,  are  all  full  of  new, 
inspiring,  exhaustless  themes.  A  preacher's  skill  consists 
in  selecting  points  of  vital  interest  therefrom  and  molding 
them  into  an  eflective  sermon.  The  pulpit  has  to  do  with 
the  home,  the  work-shop,  the  store,  the  street,  the  market; 
and  its  grand  mission  is  to  denounce  their  corruptions  and 
purify  their  morals.  "  We  want  a  Christianity  that  is 
Christian  across  counters,  over  dinner-tables,  behind  the 
neighbor's  back  as  in  his  face.  *  *  *  *  "WTe  want 
fewer  gossiping,  slandering,  gluttonous,  peevish,  conceited, 
bigoted  Christians."  ^ 

In  order  that  preaching  may  have  a  truly  pradicaZ  char- 
acter, it  should  have  reference  to  the  various  interests  of 
the  church  in  their  most  practical  application  of  duty.  A 
missionary  sermon  must  be  preached  as  often  as  a  congrega- 
tion becomes  lax  in  its  zeal  and  contributions  for  missions. 
The  pulpit  must  develop  a  missionary  spirit  in  the  church, 
and  through  it  "  Christians  be  kept  in  an  habitual  and 
alarming  sense  of  the  fact "  of  the  wretched,  terrible  state 
of  the  heathen,  and  of  our  ample  ability  and  bounden  and 
responsible  duty  to  send  them  the  gospel.  All  the  benev- 
olent activities  of  the  church,  and  all  questions  of  moral 
reform,  such  as  temperance,  secretism,  etc.,  must  be 
pressed  proportionately  to  the  imj)ortance  of  the  subject. 
The  Sunday-school  (perhaps  better  called  "  Children's  Bible- 
school,")  is  always  an  important  theme  for  the  preacher. 
Parents  and  members  should  be  forcibly  reminded  of  their 
duty  in  reference  to  this  department  of  church-enterprise. 
Oflo-cers  and  teachers  should  be  stimulated  and  guided  in 
their  efforts,  the  young  and  old  should  be  presented  with 

I  Dr.  F.  D.  Huntington,  quoted  by  Uoppiu,  in  Homiletics,  p.  692. 


^  radical  and  Expe7'ime7ital  Sermons.  223 

motives  a^ii  indacemeuts  to  become  workers  among  chil- 
dren, and  tlie  claims  of  the  school  upon  the  church  and 
community  should  be  frequently  and  variously  discussed. 
The  same  degree  of  importance  should  be  attached  to  the 
educational  interests  of  the  church.  Some  pastors  never 
preach  on  tiiis  subject,  never  inform  the  people  of  its 
benefits  to  Ihe  church  and  the  world,  never  urge  the 
young  to  se<;k  a  sanctified  education  in  a  Christian  col- 
lege which  is  under  the  supervision  of  the  church.  Among 
the  various  agencies  that  encourage  and  foster  a  higher 
intelligence,  the  pulpit  should  by  no  means  be  the  least. 

Then  there  are  many  other  Christian  duties,  such  as 
alms-giving,  visitation  of  the  poor  and  the  sick,  proper 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  love,  forgiveness,  gratitude, 
forbearance,  etc.,  which  should  be  practically  presented  in 
the  spirit  of  the  gospel. 

Again,  in  order  that  preaching  may  be  truly  experimental 
in  character,  it  should  concern  itself  mainly  with  topics 
upon  means  of  grace,  and  such  phases  of  religious  experi- 
ence as  are  essential  to  spiritual  growth,  and  assurance  of 
the  faith.  Prayer,  the  importance  of  reading  the  Script- 
ures, attending  prayer-meetings,  class-meetings,  and  the 
public  services,  the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's- 
supper,  family  worship,  fasting,  and  secret  prayer  can  all 
be  made  subjects  of  the  most  edifying  sermons.  A 
discourse  on  the  grace  of  giving  should  not  be  preached 
when  a  collection  is  announced  to  be  taken  up,  but  rather 
at  a  time  when  the  audience  least  expects  it,  lest  any  good 
impression  made  be  weakened  by  the  idea  that  the  sermon 
was  prompted  by  the  occasion  or  some  financial  necessity, 
and  that  they  have  a  right,  therefore,  to  assume  an  attitude 
of  defense  or  unfriendliness  to  the  appeal.  A  better  way 
is  to  indoctrinate  the  people  regularly  in  the  duty  of  con- 
tributing cheerfully  of  their  means  in  response  to  every 


2  24  '^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

worthy  call,  and  then,  when  the  opportunity  of  exercising- 
this  duty  presents  itself,  to  preach  a  soul-stirring  sermon 
on  some  general  topic  of  experimental  religion  that  will 
arouse  their  affections  and  make  them  open  to  every 
behest  of  duty.  This  will  be  a  strong  argumentum  ad 
crumenam,  and  the  best  preparation  for  a  good  collection.^ 

Items  of  experience  from  individual  persons,  whether 
living  or  dead,  will  enrich  a  discourse  on  such  subjects  as 
temptation,  affliction,  bereavement,  perseverance,  despond- 
ency, steadfastness,  etc.,  provided  we  always  make  due 
allowance  for  the  peculiarities  of  disposition,  opinion,  and 
education  of  the  persons  from  whose  history  we  select  our 
facts.  Our  own  experience  may  sometimes  be  briefly  and 
modestly  introduced,  not  as  a  criterion  of  other  men's 
experiences,  —  for  perhaps  no  two  can  be  alike,  —  but  as- 
an  illustration  of  gome  truth. 

In  order  to  be  successful  in  preaching  practical  and 
experimental  sermons,  the  preacher  must  study  human 
nature,  collectively  and  individually,  interest  himself  in 
facts  rather  than  in  theory,  watch  the  world's  bulletin,  be 
able  to  analyze  human  feelings,  detect  demoralizing  influ- 
ences, probe  secret  motives,  and  then  bring  the  result  of 
his  observation  and  study  to  bear  upon  the  hearts  of  men 
in  a  pungent  and  eloquent  address. 

§    VII.      ILLUSTRATED    SERMONS. 

The  illustrated  sermon  is  a  modern  mode  of  preaching 
adopted  by  some  ministers  who  use  it  occasionally  for  the 
sake  of  securing  additional  clearness  to  and  interest  in  the 
sermon.  It  consists  of  pictorial  representations  of  the 
discourse  upon  canvas,  or  blackboard,  accompanied  with 
suitable  verbal  explanation  and  comment.     Many  portions 

I  Oo(rs  Call  for  Christian  Giving,  published  by  the  Presbyterian  Board,  Philadelphia; 
Gold  and  Vie  Oospel,  puV)lished  by  the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  New  York,  are  instructiTO 
books  on  the  subject  of  giving. 


Illustrated  Sermons.  225 

of  scripture,  such  as  narratives,  parables,  scenes  in  the 
lives  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  as  well  as  many  practical 
themes,  can  best  be  explained  with  the  aid  of  perspective 
drawings  or  visible  illustrations. 

The  advantages  of  illustrated  sermons  are: 

1.  They  reach  the  mind  and  heart  through  two  avenues 
or  senses,  instead  of  one — the  eye  and  the  ear.  The  latter 
listens  more  intently  when  aided  by  the  former.  Besides, 
impressions  through  the  eye  are  more  lasting  than  those 
made  through  the  ear.  How  many  eye-scenes  witnessed 
in  early  life  can  be  recalled,  when  spoken  words  are  for- 
gotten. Christ  often  engaged  both  the  eye  and  the  ear  of 
his  hearers,  while  preaching  to  them,  by  opening  the 
volume  of  the  visible  world,  full  of  spiritual  types.  In  his 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  he  appeals  to  the  eye :  "  Behold 
the  fowls  of  the  air  "  and  "  the  lilies  of  the  field."  At 
another  time,  "  Lift  up  your  eyeSy  and  look  on  the  fields;  for 
they  are  white  already  to  harvest."  God,  in  explaining 
the  extent  of  his  promise  to  Abraham,  said,  ^^Look  now 
toward  heaven.  *  *  *  *  go  shall  thy  seed  be."  And 
at  the  Red  Sea,  Moses  gave  the  most^  impressive  illus- 
trated sermon  ever  delivered  by  man  when  he  said  to  his 
vast  congregation  of  Israel,  "  Stand  still,  and  see  the  sal- 
vation of  the  Lord."  All  visible  illustrations,  whether 
natural  or  artistic,  are  intended  to  permanently  impress 
the  heart  through  the  eye. 

2.  They  render  scripture  intelligible  to  a  modern  con- 
gregation. Pictorial  explanations  are  especially  necessary 
to  the  exposition  of  so  ancient  and  foreign  a  volume  as 
the  Bible.  Its  language,  nationality,  customs,  etc.,  are  very 
different  from  those  of  the  present  day.  The  spectacular 
element  in  preaching  helps  to  modernize  the  ancient  text, 
and  to  adapt  it  to  our  present  American  audience.  Hence, 
the  older  the  Bible  becomes  the  more  need  there  will  be 


226  The  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermon. 

of  illustrated  exposition.  Professor  Hitchcock  predicts 
that  within  twenty  years  from  now  pictorial  illustration 
will  be  used  in  the  pulpit  as  freely  as  manuscript  now  is. 
Illustrated  sermons  also  present  truth  in  a  form  that  can 
be  understood  and  appreciated  by  all  classes, —  the  children 
as  well  as  the  aged,  the  illiterate  as  well  as  the  most 
learned.  They  therefore  help  to  solve  the  question,  How 
may  we  reach  the  many  who  never  attend  church?  "Why 
not  use  sanctified  art  as  an  aid  to  preaching  the  gospel? 
Theaters,  which  "  have  a  protracted  meeting  that  lasts  all 
the  year,"  attract  large  crowds  of  people  through  the  use, 
or  rather  abuse,  of  scenic  representation.  If  Satan  uses 
the  power  of  the  eye,  as  he  did  with  mother  Eve,  why 
should  we  not  follow  the  example  of  Jesus,  who  turned  the 
art  of  illustration  to  good  account?  "Why  should  "  the 
children  of  this  world  be  in  their  generation  wiser  than 
the  children  of  light"?  The  parlor  is  made  inviting  to 
the  family  and  its  guests  by  the  attractions  of  expensive 
pictures  upon  the  walls.  "  We  have  little  illustrated  four- 
paged  monthly  Sunday-school  papers  for  children,  and 
large  illustrated  weeklies  for  adults,"  to  make  gospel  truth 
more  interesting.  Why  not  sometimes  add  a  charm  to 
the  pulpit  by  giving  our  hearers  an  artistic  view  of  Bible 
scenes  and  Bible  facts?  Often  vivid  efiects  are  produced 
upon  an  audience  by  the  use  of  visible  illustrations.  When 
Summerficld  was  pleading  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  to  a 
crowded  house,  in  the  presence  of  the  children  of  the  insti- 
tution, at  the  close  of  the  sermon  he  said,  "  But  I  transfer 
these  children  now  to  you.  Behold  them!"  Dropping  his 
handkorchief  on  the  platform  as  a  signal,  instantly  a  crowd 
of  silent  and  speechless  ones  arose!  Then  he  pointed  to 
them,  and  spoke  of  the  eloquence  of  their  dumb  silence  in 
Buch  thrilling  words,  that  not  only  were  a  thousand  dollars 
thrown  into  the  baskets,  but  gold  rings  were  taken  from 


Funeral  Sermons.  227 

fingers,  and  a  gold  necklace  torn  from  the  neck,  to  ofler  for 
the  cause. 

However,  illustrated  discourses  should  not  become  the- 
atric, like  the  notorious  Passion  Play,  or  run  into  the 
absurdities  of  Romanism,  or  be  given  for  the  sole  object  of 
entertainment,  but  chiefly  and  exclusively  as  aids  to  expla- 
nation and  impression.^ 

A  relic,  natural  object,  or  picture,  may  sometimes  be 
used  in  any  ordinary  sermon  with  good  effect.^ 

§    VIII.      FUNERAL    SERMONS. 

Funeral  occasions  afford  rare  opportunities  for  making 
good  religious  impressions.  People  are  never  so  ready  to 
receive  religious  instruction  as  when  sickness  and  death 
enter  their  households.  Hearts  are  then  tender  and  im- 
pressible. For  once  their  vain  hopes  of  earthly  pleasures 
are  diverted,  and  their  thoughts  can  easily  be  directed  to 
the  spiritual.  Besides,  many  non  -  church  -  going  people 
never  hear  a  sermon  except  at  funerals.  How  important 
that  the  minister  who  presides  on  such  occasions  should 
utilize  these  rare  opportunities  for  doing  good! 

His  duties  demand  thoughtful  preparation  for  speaking 
to  those  who  will  be  his  hearers.  Usually  he  has  a  very 
short  time  in  which  to  prepare  a  sermon.  But  if  he  is  a 
student  of  human  nature;  has  learned  to  fathom  aching 
hearts  under  various  conditions  of  sorrow  and  bereave- 

1  If  the  preacher  13  not  skilled  in  the  use  of  crayon  or  pencil  so  as  to  produce  his 
own  pictures,  he  may  secure  an  artist  to  sketch  from  his  own  (the  preacher's)  conception, 
or  procure  a  prepared  specimen  and  treat  it  homiletieally  in  his  own  way.  Many  pub- 
lishers of  our  Sunday-school  lessons  now  publish  weekly  cartoons  of  the  lessons  which 
are  cheap,  large,  and  well  adapted  for  pulpit  use.  The  outline  can  easily  be  filled  out 
with  colored  crayon.  Pulpit  paintings,  prepared  by  the  Rev.  E.  M.  Long,  author  of 
JUustTated History  of  Sfi/mns  and  their  Authors,  Talks  to  Children,  etc.,  can  be  rented  at  rea- 
sonable terms.  Address  the  author  at  office,  in  charge  of  Arnold  &  Willyoung,  189 
Woodward  Avenue,  Detroit,  Michigan. 

2  Alfred  Cookman  preached  his  last  sermon,  October  22, 1871.  As  he  arose  to  announce 
his  text  he  held  in  his  hand  a  faded  leaf,  saying,  "  This  is  my  text,  '  We  all  do  fade  as  a 
leaf.'  "  He  preached  until  strength  failed.  Exhausted,  he  dropped  into  his  seat  with 
these  concluding  words:  "  The  leaf  and  the  preacher  are  alike — fading."  The  eflfectwas 
wonderful. 


228  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

ment;  learned  in  his  past  experience  or  observation  what 
spiritual  medicament  to  prescribe  for  such  bleeding  wounds; 
and,  moreover,  if  he  has  tried  to  acquaint  himself  as  far  as 
possible  with  the  history  of  the  deceased;  if  he  has  visited 
and  conversed  with  him  and  the  family  during  his  last 
illness,  he  will  be  qualified  to  prepare  a  very  suitable  dis- 
course at  short  notice 

While  there  are  various  circumstances  that  must  deter- 
mine their  character,  yet  in  the  majority  of  cases  funeral 
sermons  may  be  classified  under  three  heads. 

1.  For  the  funeral  of  a  child.  Such  sermons  should  be 
adapted  mostly  to  the  condition  of  the  'parents.  For  exam- 
ple :  If  the  parents  are  Christians,  the  officiating  clergyman 
should  teach  them  cheerful  submission  to  the  divine  will 
by  recounting  some  of  the  many  benefits  that  accrue  from 
early  deaths  in  childhood,  and  directing  their  minds  from 
that  which  is  sad  and  mysterious  to  that  which  is  hopeful 
and  consoling.  If  non-Christians,  in  addition  to  such 
thoughts,  he  should  try  with  suitable  words  to  win  their 
hearts,  not  to  himself,  but  to  Him  who  deprived  them  of  a 
dear  one  for  some  wise  purpose.  If  many  children  are 
present,  such  as  school-mates  or  class-mates,  the  preacher 
should  address  a  considerable  part  of  the  discourse  to  them, 
in  matter  and  manner  which  they  can  readily  understand. 

2.  For  the  funeral  of  an  adult  Christian.  On  such  an 
occasion  the  sermon  ought  to  be  mostly  biographical.  The 
review  of  a  holy  life  before  an  assembly  of  friends  who 
were  well  acquainted  with  the  deceased,  is  not  only  inter- 
esting, but  very  inspiring  and  profitable.  However,  an 
honest  portrayal  of  such  character  demands  that  the 
preacher  neither  exaggerate  its  virtues  nor  ignore  its  de- 
fects, remembering  that  no  human  life  can  be  perfect.  In 
case  of  a  private  or  uneventful  life,  the  sermon  should  be 
yxainly  textual;  that  is,  devoted  to  such  thoughts  as  may 


I'uneral  Sermons.  229 

be  derived  from  the  text.  In  either  case,  however,  the 
sermon  should  partake  of  both  characteristics;  but  in  the 
former  the  biographical,  and  in  the  latter  the  textual  should 
prevail. 

3.  For  funerals  of  the  unconverted,  irreligious,  and  unbe- 
lieving. Let  no  preacher  shun  the  task  of  speaking  at  the 
burial  of  the  most  wicked  person.  The  living  may  profit 
by  such  a  thrilling  and  woful  incident  if  the  preacher 
then  lifts  a  warning  voice.  In  doing  this,  however,  pru- 
dence must  always  be  exercised.  The  feelings  of  bereaved 
relatives  should  be  respected.  Do  not  rehearse  his  wicked 
life  or  announce  his  doom.  That  is  too  horrid  to  relate  on 
such  an  occasion.  It  is  enough  that  the  persons  present 
know  the  sad  facts  in  his  case.  Besides,  there  is  nothing 
inspiring  in  the  story  of  wickedness.  Every  human  being, 
while  he  lives,  preaches  his  own  funeral  sermon.  Hia 
whole  life  is  one  long  sermon,  and  speaks  more  loudly  and 
effectually  than  the  most  eloquent  funeral  oration  that  ever 
flowed  from  the  lips  of  a  Storrs  or  a  Webster.  No  words 
spoken  by  the  preacher  at  the  conclusion  of  such  a  life- 
sermon  can  by  any  means  take  from  or  add  to  it  one  single 
iota.  While  we  recommend  reticence  respecting  a  wicked 
man's  life  and  death,  we  also  give  this  precaution,  not  to 
attempt  an  apology  for  any  of  his  crimes,  or  say  one  word 
that  would  give  some  wily  hearer,  who  is  seeking  some 
license  for  his  wickedness,  a  right  to  infer  that  you  have 
hope  in  his  final  salvation.  A  preacher  can  not  afford  thus 
to  contradict  his  preaching  on  other  occasions,  when  he 
teaches  his  people  that  unless  they  repent  "  they  must  all 
likewise  perish."  What,  then,  shall  he  preach?  The  occa- 
sion is  abundant  in  suggestions.  The  responsibility  of  life, 
the  uncertainty  of  the  dying  hour,  the  unalterable  terms 
of  salvation,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  future  rewards 
and  punishments,  the  benefits  of  a  useful  and  the  injury  of 


230  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

a  wasted  life,  and  a  number  of  such  kindred  themes,  will 
furnish  thoughts  for  a  profitable  discourse,  provided  they 
be  always  intensely  practical,  rather  than  doctrinal.  "Paiua 
should  be  taken  not  to  make  much  of  death-bed  conver- 
sions, which  are  proverbially  uncertain,  and  the  hope  of 
which,  as  a  last  resort,  is^so  often  taken  by  the  living  as  an 
encouragement  to  delay."^  Prudence  must  decide  as  to  th& 
manner  of  addressing  directly  the  family  of  the  deceased, 
or  particular  members  of  it,  whether  at  intervals  during^ 
the  discourse,  at  its  close,  or  not  at  all. 

On  all  funeral  occasions  the  discourse  should  be  short, 
largely  consolatory  in  sentiment,  and  delivered  in  an  easy, 
solemn,  sympathetic  tone  of  voice.  Nothing  is  so  ill-be- 
coming the  character  of  the  service  aud  the  preacher — a 
son  of  consolation  —  as  indiiFerence  in  manner,  or  boister- 
ousness  of  speech,  during  the  solemn  obsequies.  "When 
several  ministers  are  to  speak,  each  address  should  be  very 
short,  and  embrace  different  phases  of  the  subject.  If  the 
first  speaker  uses  a  text,  the  rest  are  not  obliged  to  follow 
it.  In  the  cities,  where  the  funeral  services  are  mostly 
held  in  the  house  of  the  deceased,  it  is  not  customar}-  to 
use  a  text  at  all.  "  A  prevailing  fault  of  funeral  discourses 
is  the  occupation  of  too  much  time  with  generalities  or 
truths  that  have  no  special  application  to  the  existing  cir- 
cumstances. It  is  far  better  to  confine  such  discourses  to 
narrower  limits,  and  to  that  particular  range  of  thought 
which  all  will  recognize  to  be  pertinent."  ^ 

§    IX.      OUT -DOOR   SERMONS. 

These  do  not  differ  essentially  from  other  sermons,  except 
that  they  are  designed  for  a  new  class  of  hearers  —  princi- 
pally non-church-going  people,  and  are  delivered  in  a  new 
locality — the  open  air. 

1  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  pp.  112,  113. 

2  Kidder's  Homiletics,  p.  280. 


Old-  Door  Sermons.  231 

In  favor  of  out-door  preaching  it  may  be  said: 
1st.  That  it  was  the  early  practice  of  the  church. 
Enoch,  Noah,  and  Moses,  no  doubt,  deUvered  their  stirring 
discourses  under  the  open  sky.  Elijah  uttered  his  chal- 
lenge to  the  frantic  multitude  from  Mount  Carmel.  Jonah 
lifted  up  his  voice  of  warning  in  the  streets  of  Nineveh, 
and  Ezra  expounded  the  Scriptures  to  the  people  who 
"  gathered  themselves  together  as  one  man  into  the  street 
that  was  before  the  water-gate."  And  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era,  field  -  preaching  had  such  notable  exam- 
ples as  John  the  Baptist,  who  preached  the  gospel  of  re- 
pentance from  the  banks  of  the  Jordan;  Christ  himself, 
who  delivered  most  of  his  discourses  in  the  open  air, —  on 
the  mountain-side,  by  the  sea-shore,  and  in  the  streets; 
and,  afterward,  the  apostles  and  their  immediate  successors, 
who,  according  to  Eusebius,  went  everywhere  —  preaching 
the  gospel  wherever  people  could  be  found. 

2d.  That  it  is  often  useful  in  modern  times.  It  may  be 
objected  that  in  this  day  of  multiplied  church-houses  and 
in-door  conveniences,  the  necessity  for  open-air  preaching 
has  passed  away;  but  so  long  as  there  are  people  who  can 
not  be  brought  into  the  pews  of  our  chapels,  the  necessity 
of  field -preaching  will  continue  to  exist.  To  become 
"  fishers  of  men "  we  must  imitate  the  fisherman,  and  go 
to  the  people  if  they  will  not  come  to  us.  To  be  "  mer- 
chant-men seeking  goodly  jjearls,"  we  must,  like  traders, 
go  to  the  markets  and  hunt  business.  Even  many  a  town 
and  city  pastor  who  is  every  Sunday  preaching  his  prosy 
sermons  to  empty  pews,  might  soon  have  them  filled  by 
occasionally  going  out  to  preach  in  the  "highways  and 
hedges,"  and  thereby  compelling  "them  to  come  in,  that 
my  house  may  be  full."  Says  Mr.  Spurgeon,  "  No  sort  of 
defense  is  needed  for  preaching  out  of  doors;  but  it  would 
need  very  potent  arguments  to  prove  that  a  man  had  done 


232  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

his  duty  who  has  never  preached  beyond  the  walls  of  his 
meeting-house."  "When  we  think  of  the  fruitful  results 
of  the  field -preaching  of  Peter  Cartwright,  Lorenzo  Dow, 
Jacob  Gruber,  John  Welsh,  and  Robert  Flockhart;* 
when  we  read  of  the  five  hundred  who  were  converted 
under  the  preaching  of  John  Livingstone  in  the  yard  of  the 
Kirk  of  Shotts,  though  "  it  rained  in  torrents  during  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  time ; "  and  when,  with  grateful 
hearts,  we  remember  the  thousands  who  were  converted 
under  Whitefield's  triumphant  eloquence,  when  he  ad- 
dressed the  multitudes  that  gathered  around  him  in  fields 
and  plains,  we  are  impressed  with  the  fact  that  our  "  field 
is  the  world,"  and  that  perhaps  our  most  fruitful  parish  is 
the  moral  desert  where  the  voice  of  the  preacher  is  seldom 
heard.  Says  John  "Wesley,  "  I  am  assured  that  I  did  far 
more  good  to  my  Lincolnshire  parishioners  by  preaching 
three  days  on  my  father's  tomb,  than  I  did  by  preaching 
three  years  in  his  pulpit." 

Out- door  preaching  will  reach  a  class  of  people  that 
otherwise  would  perhaps  never  hear  a  sermon.  Some 
can  not  possibly  be  induced  to  enter  a  church,  but  will 
stand  in  a  crowd  to  listen  to  the  gospel,  perhaps  out  of 
curiosity,  but  often  not  without  benefit;  while  the  charac- 
ter and  condition  of  others  would,  out  of  delicacy,  pre- 
vent their  appearance  in  a  place  of  public  worship  on 
Sunday  on  account  of  poor  clothes  or  filthy  habits;  and 
on  account  of  such  circumstances  our  out  -  door  ministry 
would  secure  Christ's  approval,  because  "  the  poor  have 
the  gospel  preached  to  them." 

3d.  That  it  is  especially  adapted  to  all  kinds  of  mis- 
sionary work.  We  have  reference  not  only  to  foreign 
fields,  where  out -door  preaching  is  often  a  real  necessity, 

I  For  forty-three  years  ho  spoke  in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh  every  Sunday,  because, 
as  he  said,  "  Compassion  to  the  souls  of  men  drove  me  to  the  streets  of  my  native  city 
to  plead  with  sinners." 


Out-  Door  Sermons.  233 

as  it  was  in  the  early  church,  but  especially  to  home  mis- 
sions in  Christian  lands.  Every  preacher,  in  a  certain 
sense,  should  be  a  missionary,  seeking  to  extend  his  arena 
•of  usefulness  into  neglected  neighborhoods,  where  a  good 
work  of  evangelization  may  be  commenced  by  first  preach- 
ing by  the  road -side,  under  a  tree,  or  wherever  a  small 
number  can  be  gathered  together  for  divine  worship. 
Some  of  our  great  revivals,  and  many  of  our  most  flour- 
ishing congregations,  in  city  and  country,  have  originated 
in  this  way.  In  this  way  habitual  church  -  goers  have  been 
newly  interested,  neglecters  of  the  house  of  God  drawn  to 
the  sanctuary,  and  a  general  impetus  given  to  the  pastor's 
work. 

Then  there  are  special  missions  to  seamen  in  domestic 
and  foreign  ports,  to  miners,  soldiers,  and  laborers  in  pub- 
lic works,  and  among  the  degraded  classes  in  many  dark 
corners  of  our  large  cities,  where  halls  are  not  accessible, 
or  even  desirable,  that  require  almost  exclusive  out  -  door 
preaching. 

4th.  That  a  change,  occasionally,  from  in  -  door  to  out- 
door service  would  be  exhilarating  to  the  regular  worship- 
ers. Many  church  -  going  people  become  weary  of  going 
to  the  same  place  year  after  year,  and  listening  to  the  old 
routine  of  worship  until  its  stagnation  breeds  contempt 
for  the  Sunday  and  its  services.  A  change  of  place,  there- 
fore, will  be  useful  to  avoid  monotony  and  formality,  so  fatal 
to  Christian  alacrity;  will  remove  indift'erence,  create  new 
interest,  suggest  thought,  and  in  many  ways  afford  a  fresh 
opportunity  for  doing  good.  For  this  purpose  the  preacher 
might  sometimes,  during  the  summer-season,  announce  that 
his  next  regular  service  will  be  held  in  a  neighboring 
grove,  or  under  a  tent  in  some  lawn  or  square,  the  meeting 
in  the  new  place  to  be  continued  over  a  Sabbath,  or  during 
a  whole  week;  or,  what  may  be  better  still,  he  might  select 


234  ^'^^^  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

a  place  quite  convenient  to  liis  churcli,  to  which  the  people 
could  repair  during  rainy  and  inclement  weather,  or  in 
which  a  prayer  -  meeting  before  or  after  preaching  might 
be  held.  Half  an  hour's  out -door  singing  and  speaking 
before  the  preaching  -  hour  will  often  fill  an  empty  house. 
Camp -meetings,  which  are  held  annually  in  our  countr}', 
when  properly  conducted,  answer  a  useful  purpose  in 
reviving  the  declining  zeal  of  many  Christians,  and  in 
addressing  numerous  sermons  and  exhortations  in  the  open 
air  to  all  classes  of  hearers. 

A  few  suggestions  on  out-door  preaching : 

1st.  Let  the  speaker  select  a  good  position  from  which 
to  address  the  people.  To  stand  upon  a  box,  bench,  or 
temporary  platform,  and  thus  elevate  himself  somewhat 
above  the  level  of  the  hearers,  is  a  convenient  method  of 
getting  command  of  an  audience;  but  a  better  plan  is  to 
let  the  audience  occupy  the  elevated  position,  while  the 
preacher  stands  at  the  bottom  of  an  amphitheater,  or  faces 
a  rising  ground.  This  alibrds  an  acoustic  advantage  to 
botli  hearer  and  speaker. 

2d.  Do  not  preach  against  the  wind,  or  beneath  trees 
which  produce  a  liissing  or  rustling  sound,  or  near  a  water- 
fall, or  in  any  noisy  place,  lest  the  voice  become  inaudible 
in  a  position  otherwise  most  favorable. 

3d.  Exercise  prudence,  self-possession,  and  common 
sense.  Out-door  preaching  is  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  inter- 
ruptions and  annoyances.  Sometimes  drunkards,  scoffers, 
skeptics,  rioters,  and  disturbers  of  every  sort,  will  be  pres- 
ent to  interrupt  the  services  and  thwart  the  preacher. 
Every  kind  of  tact  is  needed  to  prevent  disturbance.  The 
preacher  must  possess  himself  calmly  under  the  most  excit- 
ing circumstances,  be  able  to  quickly  baffle  interferences, 
answer  foolish  questions,  and  by  all  lawful  devices  to  pre- 
serve the  sacreduess  of  solemn  worship.     He  should,  how- 


Out-  Door  Sermons,  235 

ever,  never  forget  tliat  the  chief  object  is  not  to  control 
mobs,  but  to  save  souls. 

4th.  We  give  the  following  select  sentences  of  practical 
advice  from  Spurgeon's  "  Lectures  to  My  Students,"  second 
series,  on  the  topic  of  open-air  preaching:  "In  the  street 
a  man  must  keep  himself  alive,  and  use  many  illustrations 
and  anecdotes,  and  sprinkle  a  quaint  remark  here  and 
there.  To  dwell  long  on  a  point  will  never  do.  Reasoning 
must  be  brief,  clear,  and  soon  done  with."  "  Come  to  the 
point  at  once;  and  come  there  with  all  your  might."  "  In 
a  regular  field  -  sermon,  pauses  are  very  efficient,  and  are 
useful  in  several  ways  both  to  speaker  and  listeners;  but  to 
a  passing  company  who  are  not  inclined  to  anything  like 
worship,  quick,  short,  sharp  address  is  most  adapted." 
"  In  the  streets  a  man  must  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
be  intense,  and  for  that  very  reason  he  must  be  condensed 
and  concentrated  in  his  thoughts  and  utterance."  "  Have 
something  to  say,  look  them  in  the  face,  say  what  you 
mean,  put  it  plainly,  boldly,  earnestly,  courteously,  and 
they  will  hear  you."  "  The  less  you  are  like  a  parson  the 
more  likely  you  are  to  be  heard;  and  if  you  are  known  to 
be  a  minister,  the  more  you  show  yourself  a  man  the 
better."  "  The  action  of  the  street  preacher  should  be  of 
the  very  best.  It  should  be  purely  natural,  and  uncon- 
strained." "  All  mannerism  should  be  avoided."  "  It  will 
be  very  desirable  to  speak  so  as  to  be  heard,  but  there  is 
no  use  in  incessant  bawling."  "  One  constant  rule  is,  to 
be  always  courteous  and  good-tempered;  for  if  you  become 
cross  or  angry,  it  is  all  over  with  you.  Another  rule  is,  to- 
keep  to  your  subject,  and  never  be  drawn  into  side-issues. 
Preach  Christ  or  nothing;  don't  dispute  or  discuss  except 
with  your  eye  on  the  cross." 


CHAPTER   V. 

REVIVAL  SERMONS. 

Oeneral  Remarks  —  A  Fundamental  Requisite  for  Eflfective  Revival 
Preaching — Character  of  Revival  Preaching — Questions  on  Revival 
Preaching  —  Character  of  the  Preaching  of  the  Most  Eminent  Reviv- 
alists. 

§   I.      GENERAL   REMARKS. 

All  preaching  should  be  revival  preaching,  in  the  sense 
that  every  sermon  ought  to  revive  the  Christian's  faith, 
and  reform  the  sinner.  But  there  are  special  times  when 
a  special  course  of  preaching,  extending  over  a  succession 
of  weeks  and  even  months,  is  required,  in  order  to  awaken 
the  church  on  the  subject  of  immediate  action  in  religion. 
These  times  are  whenever  the  church  is  in  a  state  of  inac- 
tivity, of  spiritual  declension  and  backsliding.  Such 
alarming  signs  ought  to  be  sufficient  warning  to  a  preacher 
to  bestir  himself  in  a  special  effort  to  promote  a  "  revival  of 
religion."  Such  necessities  for  revival  efforts  will  come  to 
nearly  every  congregation,  at  least  once  or  twice  a  year. 
Tliere  is  no  reason  why  a  church  should  not  always  be 
■engaged  in  revivals,  but  there  are  many  reasons  why 
special  agitation  is  needed.  Finney  says,  "  Many  good 
men  have  supposed,  and  still  suppose,  that  the  best  way  to 
promote  religion,  is  to  go  along  uniformly^  and  gather  in 
the  ungodly  gradually,  and  without  excitement.  But 
however  sound  such  reasoning  may  appear  in  the  abstract, 
facts   demonstrate   its   futility.      If  the   church    were   far 

enough  advanced  in  knowledge,  and  had  stability  of  prin- 

236 


General  Remarks.  237 

ciple  enough  to  kee'p  awake,  sach  a  course  would  do;  but 
the  church  is  so  little  enlightened,  and  there  are  so  many 
counteracting  causes,  that  she  will  not  go  steadily  to  work 
without  a  special  interest  being  awakened."^  And  after 
showing  how  great  political  and  other  worldly  excitements 
are  unfriendly  to  religion,  he  says,  "  ]N"ow  these  excitements 
can  only  be  counteracted  by  religious  excitements.  And 
until  there  is  religious  principle  in  the  world  to  put  down 
irreligious  excitements,  it  is  vain  to  try  to  promcfte  relig- 
ion, except  by  counteracting  excitements.  This  is  true  in 
philosophy,  and  it  is  a  historical  fact." 

"We  must,  however,  distinguish  between  a  true  and  a 
false  excitement;  that  caused  by  a  freak  of  the  imagina- 
tion, and  that  which  results  naturally,  from  a  great  fact. 
When  a  celebrated  evangelist,  years  ago,  was  accused  of 
leading  audiences  into  excitement,  he  answered,  "  I  have 
heard  of  a  traveler  who  saw  at  the  side  of  the  way  a 
woman  weeping,  and  beating  her  breast.  He  ran  to  her 
and  asked,  '  Wliat  can  I  do  for  you?  "What  is  the  cause  of 
your  anguish?' — 'My  child  is  in  the  well;  my  child  is  in 
the  well!'  With  swiftest  despatch  assistance  was  given, 
and  the  child  rescued.  Farther  on  this  same  traveler  met 
another  woman  wailing  also,  and  beating  her  breast.  He 
came  swiftly  to  her,  and  with  great  earnestness  asked, 
*What  is  your  trouble?' — '  My  pitcher  is  in  the  well;  my 
pitcher  is  in  the  well ! '  Our  great  social  and  political  ex- 
citements are  all  about  pitchers  in  wells,  and  our  religious 
excitements  are  about  children  in  wells."^  "Do  not  be 
afraid  of  a  white-heat:  it  is  God's  method  of  burning  out 
dross."  ^  The  great  metaphysician,  Jonathan  Edwards,  in 
speaking  of  earnestness  in  saving  souls,  says,  "Now  if  such 
things  are  enthusiasm,   and  the   fruits    of  a  distempered 

z  Remval  Lectures,  pp.  10,  11. 

3  Joseph  Cook'3  "  Boston  Monday  Lectures"  on  Transcendentalism,  pp.  194, 195. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  194. 


238  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

brain,  let  my  brain  be  evermore  possessed  of  that  bappy 
■distemper!  If  this  be  distraction,  I  pray  God  that  the 
world  of  mankind  may  be  all  seized  with  this  benign, 
meek,  beneficent,  beatifical,  glorious  distraction ! "  A 
preacher  who  can  see  sinners  heedlessly  rushing  to  ever- 
lasting destruction,  and  not  become  pained  and  enthusiast- 
ically aroused  over  the  sight,  must  indeed  be  diill  in  mind, 
and  duller  in  heart. 

Revivals  are  not  accidents,  nor  exclusively  miracles,  but 
are  the  efiect  of  adequate  cause  or  efibrt.  They  come  by 
being  sought.  They  are  the  philosophical  result  of  the 
right  use  of  the  constituted  means,  just  as  any  other  effect 
is  the  result  of  the  application  of  right  means.  Finney 
says,  "  The  connection  between  the  right  use  of  means  for 
a  revival  and  a  revival  is  as  pliilosophically  sure  as  be- 
tween the  right  use  of  means  to  raise  grain  and  a  crop  of 
wheat.  I  believe  there  are  fewer  cases  of  failure  in  the 
moral  than  in  the  natural  world."  This  implies  the  inter- 
working  of  human  and  divine  agencies;  for  in  the  produc- 
tion of  a  harvest,  God  and  man  must  work  together  —  a 
Paul  to  plant  and  an  Apollos  to  water,  but  one  mightier 
than  either  to  "  give  the  increase."  Mere  mechanical 
means,  without  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  not  pro- 
duce a  revival.  We  are  dependent  upon  the  "  Lord  of  the 
harvest"  for  a  harvest,  for  it  is  his  to  give  and  his  to 
withhold;  but  without  prayer  and  the  necessary  prepara- 
tion on  our  part  in  obedience  to  the  command,  and  without 
faith  in  the  promises  of  God,  it  is  unreasonable  to  expect 
a  gracious  visitation  of  his  blessing  in  the  salvation  of 
men.  It  is  not  our  efforts  that  bring  the  blessing,  but  the 
power  of  God;  but  without  our  efforts  the  blessing  will 
not  come.  This  is  the  true  philosophy  of  revival.  A  true 
revival  of  religion  is  a  movement  among  the  people,  pro- 
duced by  the  agency  of  God's  people  and  the  working  of 


General  Remarks.  239 

Ood's  Spirit,  resulting  in  the  quickening  of  his  children 
and  the  conversion  of  sinners. 

On  the  human  side,  this  work  should  first  begin  with  the 
preacher;  then  with  his  j^eop^e;  and  thence  extend  through 
the  community.  In  preparing  the  way,  let  the  preacher 
begin  by  preaching  on  the  nature,  history,  and  importance 
of,  and  means  of  promoting,  true  revivals.  Let  him  preach 
for  a  time  upon  such  texts  as,  "  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the 
Lord;"  "Take  up  the  stumbling-block  out  of  the  way;  " 
"Where  art  thou?"  "Wilt  thou  not  revive  us  again?" 
^'Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation;"  "Break  up 
jour  fallow-ground;"  "Awake,  awake,  put  on  thy  strength, 
O  Zion;"  "Ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  come  upon  you;"  "The  people  had  a  mind  to  work;" 
"  He  that  converteth  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way," 
etc.;  "Ye  are  my  witnesses;"  "He  that  winneth  souls  is 
wise;"  "Aaron  and  Hurr,"  etc. 

Among  human  agencies,  'preaching  is  the  greatest  factor 
in  promoting  revivals.  God  has  ordained  that  men  should 
be  saved  by  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel.  Hence,  every 
pastor  should  cultivate  a  talent  for  revival  preaching.  A 
learned  divine  stated  to  a  friend  that  although  he  had 
preached  more  than  forty  years  he  did  not  know  of  any 
conversions  resulting  from  his  efforts.  This  is,  indeed, 
a  sad  experience.  He  evidently  neglected  this  talent  or 
wisdom  of  winning  souls  through  preaching.  A  minis- 
ter may  be  learned,  but  not  wise;  pious,  but  not  wise; 
both  learned  and  pious,  yet  not  wise  in  the  skill  of  winning 
souls;  while  others  with  less  learning  or  piety  are  emi- 
nently successful  as  revival  preachers.  Such  a  talent  for 
calling  men  to  repentance  consists  in  strong  will-power, 
intense  conviction  and  feeling  that  make  one's  preaching 
irresistible,  power  of  forcing  men  to  decide,  power  to  slay 
them.    "  Sinners  must  sometimes  be  made  to  feel  as  though 


240  The  Preacher  and  His  Se7^mo7i. 

lie  (the  preacher)  were  God  himself,  searching  their  hearts 
and  pricking  their  consciences  until  they  quail  before  his 
penetrating  glance." 

§     II.       A    FUNDAMENTAL    REQUISITE    FOR    EFFECTIVE    REVIVAL 

PREACHING. 

A  fundamental  requisite  for  eifective  revival  preaching 
is  a  heart-felt  yearning  for  the  salvation  of  the  people.  It 
must  not  be  an  affected  solicitude,  but  a  painful,  soul-trav- 
ailing love  for  the  work.  Paul's  intense  anxiety  for  the 
salvation  of  Israel  should  be  the  ruling  passion  of  his 
preaching, — "My  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for  Israel 
is,  that  they  might  be  saved;"  "For  I  could  wish  that  myself 
were  accursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren."  Other  men^ 
not  inspired,  whose  preaching  melted  human  hearts  like 
wax  before  the  flame,  have  also  had  this  consuming  zeal 
for  men's  conversion.  Alleine  was  "  infinitely  and  insatia- 
bly greedy  of  the  conversion  of  souls;  and  to  this  end  he 
poured  out  his  very  heart  in  prayer  and  preaching."  Bun- 
yan  said,  "  In  my  preaching  I  could  not  be  satisfied  unless 
some  fruits  did  appear  in  my  work."  Matthew  Henry 
said,  "I  would  count  it  a  greater  happiness  to  gain  one  soul 
to  Christ,  than  mountains  of  silver  and  gold  to  myself." 
Doddridge  wrote  to  a  friend,  "  I  long  for  the  conversion  of 
souls  more  sensibly  than  for  anything  besides.  Methinks  I 
could  not  only  labor,  but  die  for  it  with  pleasure."  Brain- 
erd:  "I  cared  not  where  or  how  I  lived,  or  what  hard- 
ship I  went  through,  so  that  I  could  but  gain  souls  to 
Christ.  While  I  was  asleep  I  dreamed  of  these  things; 
and  when  I  waked,  the  first  thing  I  thought  of  was  this 
great  work."  Whitefield:  "Had  I  one  thousand  lives, 
gladly  would  I  spend  them  all  for  the  good  of  souls.  Oh, 
for  more  bodies,  more  tongues,  more  lives  to  be  employed 
in  this  work!"     When  a  minister  feels  as  did  Dr.  Lyman 


Character  of  Revival  Preaching.  24 1 

Beecher,  that  the  greatest  thing  is  "  not  theology,  not  con- 
troversy,—  it  is  saving  souls;"  when,  like  Jeremiah,  his 
head  is  water  and  his  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  so  that  he 
can  "  weep  day  and  night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of 
my  people;"  when  he  begins  to  pray  for  a  revival  aa 
Knox  prayed  for  Scotland,  he  is  bound  to  have  a  multitude 
of  conversions  as  the  fruits  of  his  earnest  preaching.  Dr. 
Porter  used  to  say  that  where  there  was  no  revival  the 
minister  was  the  greatest  obstacle. 

§   ni.      CHARACTER   OF   REVIVAL   PREACHING. 

The  general  character  of  revival  preaching  at  the  present 
day  ought  to  be  Christological,  and  therefore  milder  iu 
tone  than  formerly,  when  it  was  stern,  and  contained  more 
of  the  element  of  terror.  The  difference  between  the  re- 
vival preaching  of  Edwards'  and  Whitefield's  day  and  that 
of  ours,  is  not  so  much  a  difference  of  doctrine  as  of  form. 
In  their  day  the  wickedness,  formality,  worldliness,  and 
spiritual  deaduess  of  the  age  shaped  and  colored  the  awful 
tones  of  divine  truth.  Between  the  church  and  the  world 
the  line  of  demarkation  was  almost  invisible.  Conversion 
was  not  necessary  to  church-membership,  and  at  times  not 
considered  a  qualification  even  for  preaching.  Hence, 
revival  preachers  took  their  stand  upon  Sinai  and  thun- 
dered forth  its  threatenings,  in  order  to  break  the  slumber 
of  an  inactive  conscience.  JSTow  the  battle  is  not  so  much 
with  orthodox  deadness  as  with  a  Christless  unbelief, —  a 
destructive  criticism  of  the  atonement.  Hence,  by  the 
trend  of  these  later  years,  the  revival  preaching  ought  to 
be  "the  lifting  up  of  Jesus  Christ"  as  a  present,  personal 
Savior,  and  exhortation  to  an  unreserved  submission  to  and 
obedience  of  his  will.  The  preaching  of  "come  to  Jesus," 
as  the  key-note  of  modern  revivals,  has  in  it  all  the  the- 
ology of  the  old  as  well  as  of  the  new  era,  and  means  the 

16 


242  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

same  as  the  severer  terminology  of  a  century  and  a  half 
ago,  except  that  the  form  of  the  message  has  been  changed 
to  meet  present  circumstances.  Therefore,  our  sermons 
should  point  to  the  cross.  Some  one  has  well  said  that  in 
our  day  conviction  at  Calvary  is  deeper  than  conviction  at 
Sinai.^ 

We  will  consider  the  character  of  revival  preaching, — 

1.     A8  io  the  General  Matter  of  the  Sermon. 

Revival  preaching  is  circumscribed  in  its  range  of  topics. 
At  other  times  we  may  give  general  instruction  in  religion, 
but  during  revivals  we  should  bring  the  knowledge  which 
men  are  supposed  to  possess  to  a  definite  purpose.  "When 
a  man  is  studying  law  in  a  lecture-room,  he  pursues  one 
course;  but  when  he  stands  before  a  jury,  to  win  a  case, 
all  that  he  ever  knew  is  concentrated  for  a  definite  pur- 
pose. He  thinks  of  their  verdict."^  The  preacher  becomes, 
as  Vinet  says,  "by  turns  *  *  *  ^  lawyer  and  a  magistrate; 
a  lawyer,  when  he  pleads  before  the  conscience  for  the 
adoption  of  the  document  [Word  of  God];  a  magistrate, 
when  he  demands  man's  obedience  to  the  document  as 
adopted."^  Revival  preaching  is  definite  in  its  object, 
aiming  at  immediate  results. 

There  are  topics  that  have  a  general  adaptation  to  all 
revivals;  such  as  the  old  and  tried  doctrines  of  the  Bible: 
total  moral  depravity,  sin,  the  remedy  for  sin,  the  atone- 
ment, repentance,  justification  by  faith,  regeneration,  the 
claims  of  Christ,  final  judgment,  and  future  retribution. 
The  main  substance  of  a  sermon  to  sinners  may  be  con- 
densed into  the  three  words  which  were  found  written  in 
Rowland  Hill's  Bible, — "ruin,  regeneration,  redemption." 
The  weighty  matter  that  must  constantly  be  pressed  with 
great  emphasis,  is  sin,  and  salvation  from  sin, —  sin  in  its 

I  Dr.  Thompson's  Times  of  liifreshing. 
a  Beecher's  Yale  Lectures,  second  series. 
3  Jlomiletici,  p.  31. 


Character  of  Revival  Preaching.  243 

various  forms  of  deceitfulness  and  ruiu,  salvation  in  its 
all-sufficiency,  freeness,  and  fullness,  and  faith  as  the  only 
means  of  escaping  from  sin  and  obtaining  salvation.  Scat- 
ter these  seed-truths,  plant  them  deeply,  water  them  with 
tears  and  prayers,  attend  them  with  unwearied  watchful- 
ness;   and   then  fear  no  empty  glean  of  harvest-sheaves. 

The  "  Love  of  Jesus "  is  the  greatest  of  all  gospel 
themes.  It  is  the  hammer  that  breaks  human  hearts. 
"What  sinner  will  not  be  moved  at  the  story  of  bleeding 
-and  suffering  love  that  comes,  not  like  the  startling  roll  of 
Sinai's  thunder,  but  with  a  voice  so  magical  that  a  heart  of 
fltone  can  not  resist  its  power?  K  this  "  wonderful  story'* 
will  not  lead  a  sinner  to  repentance,  he  is  almost  beyond 
■the  hope  of  recovery. 

The  law  may  sometimes  be  preached,  as  a  "  school- 
master "  to  lead  men  to  Christ.  "  By  the  law  is  the  kuowl- 
■edge  of  sin."  There  are  times  and  circumstances  when  the 
preacher  must  speak  with  great  plainness  and  warning. 
He  must  at  times  "  insert  pangs  into  the  hearts  of  his  hear- 
ers, as  the  probing  of  a  surgeon's  knife.  He  must  lodge 
the  goading  stings  of  truth  in  the  conscience.  He  must 
sometimes  uncover  the  pit,  and  give  visions  of  its  ascend- 
ing smoke."  ^  He  should  present  them  in  such  a  way  as  to 
impress  sinners  with  their  guilt  and  condemnation,  destroy 
their  self-righteousness,  and  cause  them  to  stand  speechless 
•and  self-condemned  before  a  holy  and  just  God.  He 
■should  speak  of  these  things  compassionately,  and  not  defi- 
antly. Let  him  speak,  as  it  were,  from  experience,  as 
if  he  himself  had  tasted  of  the  bitter  fruits  of  sin,  and 
knew  of  its  anguish.  In  this  way  he  will  convict  and 
persuade,  otherwise  he  may  harden  and  repel,  the  sinner. 
Moody  says,  "  A  man's  heart  ought  to  be  very  tender " 
when  speaking  about  the  doom  of  the  impenitent. 

X  Prof.  Geo.  Shephard,  D.  D. 


244  '^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermoji. 

2.     As  to  the  Special  Matter  of  the  Sermon. 

Sometimes  the  general  doctrines  above  stated  may  have 
done  their  work  upon  the  sinner,  and  yet  leave  him  unde- 
cided on  account  of  some  special  hinderance,  or  for  the  want 
of  the  application  of  some  ■particular  truth.  The  preacher, 
therefore,  ought  to  study  the  peculiarities  of  his  hearers, 
know  the  religious  opinions  and  feelings  of  them  all,  and 
watch  the  vicissitudes  of  feeling  during  the  progress  of 
the  revival,  so  as  to  adapt  his  preaching  to  individual  cases. 
He  must  leave,  for  a  time,  the  general  doctrine,  and  attend 
to  the  particular  cases. 

The  moralist  must  be  convicted  of  his  moral  blindness; 
of  the  evil  of  his  secret  thoughts,  intentions,  and  volitions; 
of  his  want  of  love  to  God,  and  the  souls  of  men ;  of  neglect 
of  Bible,  prayer,  means  of  grace,  self-denials,  duties,  etc.,  as 
well  as  Christ's  command,  "  Ye  must  be  born  again." 

The  backslider  must  be  reminded  of  his  sad  fall,  and 
urged  to  do  his  first  work  over,  not  by  reformation  of  mere 
outward  conduct,  but  by  true  repentance  and  prayer. 

The  unawakened  sinner  must  be  aroused  from  liis  stupor, 
perhaps  by  relating  some  startling  incidents  or  special 
providences,  or  recalling  some  loud  calls  to  him  from  God 
through  accidents,  sickness,  or  death.  Alany  and  various^ 
methods  must  be  tried,  to  awaken  his  conscience  and  bring 
him  to  serious  reflection. 

The  convicted  sinner  needs  special  attention;  for  many  are 
convicted  without  repenting.  A  person  in  a  convicted  state 
is  liable  to  lose  his  serious  impressions  unless  they  are 
followed  up  with  wise  counsel.  Perhaps  he  has  some 
idol,  or  particular  sin,  which  he  is  not  willing  to  give  up; 
perhaps  he  has  injured  some  one,  and  the  injuries  call 
for  redress  and  restitution;  perhaps  he  holds  a  prejudice 
against  some  one,  feels  ill  toward  some,  or  is  angry  and 
cherishes  feelings  of  resentment.     He  may  be  waiting  for 


Character  of  Revival  Preaching.  245 

more  conviction,  or  certain  feelings  which  some  one  else 
had  before  obtaining  mercy;  perhaps  he  entertains  some 
errors  of  doctrine,  or  wrong  notions  respecting  the  thing 
to  be  done,  or  the  way  of  doing  it,  or  may  have  laid  out  a 
plan  of  his  own  as  to  how  he  expects  to  be  converted; 
perhaps  he  thinks  his  sins  too  great  to  be  forgiven,  or  that 
he  has  committed  the  unpardonable  sin,  and  can  not  now 
be  saved.  He  has  many  excuses  for  deferring  immediate 
action,  and  intrenches  himself  behind  many  a  refuge  of 
defense.  The  preacher  who  would  succeed  in  winning  the 
-convicted  sinner,  must  find  out  his  many  hiding-places, 
and  meet  him  with  arguments  such  as  the  case  requires. 
*'■  Be  sure  to  drive  him  away  from  every  refuge,  and  not 
leave  an  inch  of  ground  to  stand  on."  ^ 

The  seeking  sinner  must  be  instructed  in  the  proper 
method  of  obtaining  salvation,  and  his  difficulties  and 
errors  in  seeking  must  be  explained  and  corrected. 

Thus  the  various  circumstances  of  individual  cases  will 
suggest  a  variety  of  topics  for  preaching,  which,  in  every 
case,  must  be  prepared  to  meet  a  special  object,  and  then 
driven  home  to  the  mark,  like  the  arrow  which  Astor  shot 
into  Philip's  right  eye,  which,  when  extracted,  was  found 
to  have  inscribed  upon  it,  "  To  Philip's  right  eye."  ^ 

3.     As  to  the  Manner  of  Revival  Preaching  : 

(1.)  Be  brief.  The  sermon  must  be  shorter  than  on 
other  occasions,  so  as  to  give  time  for  other  means  neces- 
sary to  promote  and  perpetuate  revivals.  Sometimes  we 
preach  too  much,  and  neglect  personal  work  with  sinners. 
Sometimes  a  very  short  address  or  exhortation  will  accom- 
plish more  than  a  regular  sermon.     Especially  is  this  true 

1  Finney. 

2  H.  W.  Beecher,  in  speaking  of  some  preachers  who  h^ve  no  direct  object  in  view  in 
their  sertaons,  says,  "They  preach  like  a  hunter  who,  not  knowing  precisely  what  game 
he  wo'ild  like  to  shpot,  luatU  generally,  holds  the  gun  in  the  air,  shuts  both  his  eyes,  then 
fires  in  the  abstract,  and  looks  up  to  see  if  anything  has  fallen.  Oh,  that  our  ministera 
could  take  better  aim  at  menl" 


246  The  Pi'eacher  and  His  Sennon. 

when  a  congregation  is  once  deeply  imbued  with  the  revival 
spirit,  and  many  are  engaged  in  seeking  Christ.  At 
no  stage  or  state  of  the  meeting,  however,  should  preach- 
ing be  abandoned  altogether.  Every  service  needs  to  be 
commenced  with  a  brief  discourse  suited  to  the  wants  of 
the  meeting,  as  there  are  always  peculiar  cases  that  need 
prompt  attention,  and  other  sinners  to  be  convicted  through 
the  power  of  the  truth.  The  vigilant  and  observing 
preacher  will  know  when  to  expand  his  preaching  into  a 
regular  sermon,  and  when  to  condense  it  into  a  short 
address.  (Common  sense  is  always  indispensable  in  revival 
preaching.)  "What  is  insisted  upon  is,  that  every  re- 
vival discourse  should  be  brief  and  pungent,  and  keep 
every  one  wide  awake  from  beginning  to  end.  A  revival- 
ist's quaint  advice  to  a  young  minister  who  asked  him  how 
to  preach  was,  "  Do  make  the  sparks  fly." 

(2.)  Illustrate  largely.  This  helps  to  make  the  truth 
plain  to  every  one,  which  is  especially  necessary  in  revival 
preaching.  Especially  should  doctrinal  points  be  clearly 
illustrated  by  incidents,  real  or  supposed,  and  drawn  from 
things  so  common  that  no  one  can  misunderstand  the 
application. 

(3.)  Treat  all  the  topics  in  due  jwoportion,  and  repeat  with 
variation.  If  too  much  stress  is  laid  on  one  subject,  or  class- 
of  subjects,  the  convert's  character  will  not  be  evenly  bal- 
anced or  perfect.  Let  the  preacher  guard  against  using 
"  hobbies  "  in  a  revival.  Some  subjects  are  more  impor- 
tant than  others;  but  all  must  be  treated  in  proportion  to 
their  importance,  and  with  reference  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  people.  Often,  during  the  progress  of  a  revival,  the 
recurrence  of  similar  circumstances  will  require  that  a 
former  sermon  be  repeated,  but  with  a  change  of  form 
and  language,  and  also,  if  possible,  with  improvement. 
Not  only  should  the  preacher  sometimes  repeat  sermons, 


Character  of  Revival  Preaching.  247 

but  repeat  in  the  same  sermon  whatever  he  sees  is  not 
perfectly  understood  by  his  hearers.  A  lawyer  once  said 
to  Finney,  "Tn  addressing  a  jury,  I  always  expect  that 
whatever  I  wish  to  impress  upon  their  minds,  I  must  re- 
peat in  the  same  or  difierent  language.  Otherwise,  I  do 
not  carry  their  miuds  along  with  me,  so  that  they  can  feel 
the  force  of  what  comes  afterward."  "  In  like  manner," 
Bays  Finney,  "  the  minister  ought  to  turn  an  important 
thought  over  and  over  before  his  audience,  till  even  the 
children  understand  it  perfectly." 

(4.)  Preach  so  that  the  sinner  will  be  made  to  feel  his  guilt. 
The  discourse  must  not  only  make  men  admire  the  sermon 
and  compliment  the  preacher;  it  must  not  only  make  them 
weep,  or  leave  them  under  the  impression  that  they  are 
unfortunate  and  unfit  for  heaven;  it  must  make  them  feel 
their  guilt  and  condemnation,  and  impress  them  that  they 
have  something  to  do  in  order  to  escape  "the  wrath  to 
come."  Hence,  the  conscience  must  be  probed,  and  the 
feelings  stirred. 

(5.)  Urge  upon  the  sinner  immediate  action.  The  offer  of 
"  future  salvation  "  is  one  of  Satan's  most  cunning  devices. 
The  opposite — namely,  "present  salvation," — is  the  gospel 
plan.  The  preacher  must  always,  and  with  all  his  might, 
impress  the  sinner  with  a  sense  of  hia  present  obligation; 
and  every  appeal  should  end  with  a  ringing  of  the  all-im- 
portant NOW. 

(6.)  Preach  in  faith.  Although  visible  results  may  not 
at  once  follow,  preaching  must  not  be  abandoned  as  a  vain 
thing,  or  changed  in  its  gospel  tone,  to  gratify  the  de- 
pravity of  men,  or  be  diluted  with  any  subterfuge  or  devices 
of  men's  wisdom.  The  preacher  must  believe  that  the 
word  will  not  "return  void;"  and  in  this  faith,  "not  as 
pleasing  men,  but  God,  which  trieth  our  hearts,"  must  con- 
tinue to  "cry  aloud,"  and  "spare  not,"  until  results  do 
appear. 


248  The  Preacher  and  His  Serjnon. 

(7.)  Preach  with  unction.  In  order  to  become  endowed 
with  divine  power  in  preaching,  the  preacher  must  banish 
all  self-confidence,  and  feel  his  dependence  on  God.  "When 
a  preacher  feels  deeply  that  he  is  inadequate  of  himself  to 
convert  his  hearers,  they  feel  that  they  are  wrestling  with 
his  God;  and  thus  he  speaks  to  them  with  'demonstration 
of  the  Spirit  and  of  power.' " '  His  heart  should  be  in 
great  sympathy  with  the  truth,  and  with  men ;  his  feelings 
should  flow  downward  to  his  hearers,  and  upward  to  God; 
and  thus,  with  one  hand  at  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  the 
other  upon  the  throne  of  the  Eternal,  he  should  glow  and 
melt  with  the  solemnity  of  his  theme;  should  grapple  with 
men's  consciences,  and  speak  with  the  animation  of  direct 
appeal  and  of  earnest  expostulation.  An  ice-lump  in  the 
pulpit  will  make  the  whole  congregation  a  moral  refrig- 
erator. People  can  not  get  warm  around  a  cold  stove.  He 
must  be  a  solar  light  and  heat. 

"  Kot  only  should  the  preacher  have  feeling,  but  he  must 
be  able  to  show  it;  to  make  it  flash  in  the  eye,  glow  in  the 
countenance,  tremble,  and  anon  thunder,  in  the  voice."  ^ 
As  the  instrument  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  will  forget  all 
thought  of  self,  or  of  applause,  as  he  presses  his  suit  at  the 
court  of  heaven.  Upon  two  memorable  occasions,  Au- 
gustine preached  eloquently,  and  the  people  applauded ;  but 
he  kept  on  until  they  cried,  and  he  cried  with  them.  Thus 
he  accomplished  what  he  sought.  Knox  spoke  by  inspira- 
tion. Payson,  in  the  pulpit,  pleaded  with  men;  and  if 
they  were  not  moved,  he  came  down  out  of  the  pulpit  and 
pleaded  until  men  yielded  to  God  or  spurned  him.^      On 

1  Prof.  E.  A.  Park,  iu  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  1847. 

3  Prof.  Shepherd. 

3  When  Robert  Roberts  preached,  on  one  occasion,  two  school -boys  went  to  hear 
him.  They  saw  that  the  preacher  began  by  an  intensely  earnest  look  upon  the  audience, 
his  eyes  piercing  the  people;  and  as  he  grew  more  and  more  earnest,  some  fainted,  and 
others  cried  out,  and  the  place  was  moved  "as  if  an  angel  stood  at  his  back  to  encour- 
age him."  One  of  the  boys  turned  to  the  other  and  with  pale  face  asked,  "  Is  he  a  man, 
or  an  angel  ?"  "  Why,  an  angel ;  did  you  not  know  ?"  "  Great  heavens!  but  how  maoh 
better  an  angel  preaches  than  a  man  I" 


Questions  on  Revival  Preaching.  249 

the  lips  of  sanctified  earnestness,  revival  sermons  are  a 
eeries  of  sledge-hammer  blows,  and  the  truth  a  "  sword, 
and  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  of  soul  and  spirit,  of 
both  joints  and  marrow,  and  quick  to  discern  the  thoughts 
^nd  intents  of  the  heart." 

§   IV.      QUESTIONS    ON   REVIVAL    PREACHING. 

1.  Is  it  prudent  to  invite  a  stranger  to  preach  during  a 
revival? 

There  may  be  times  when  it  is  necessary  to  call  in  a 
neighboring  preacher,  as  in  case  of  sickness,  or  any  circum- 
stances which  render  the  minister  unable  to  do  all  the 
preaching  required.  Or,  after  several  unsuccessful  efforts 
to  create  a  religious  interest,  an  evangelist  might  be  em- 
ployed to  do  the  work.  But  as  a  rule  every  pastor  should 
-do  his  own  preaching.  Ko  one  can  so  well  understand  the 
wants  of  his  hearers,  and  apply  the  truth  so  effectually,  as 
he  can.  "  Then  it  should  be  considered  that  an  ill-advised 
or  imprudent  discourse  at  such  a  time  may  do  an  incalcu- 
lable amount  of  injury  —  may  even  chill  and  destroy  the 
whole  work.  Such  sad  instances  are  not  unknown.  *  *  *  ^ 
A  stranger  coming  into  the  midst  of  animated  revival 
scenes  will  hardly  be  in  the  same  spirit,  and  may  diminish 
instead  of  increasing  its  ilame."^  Every  preacher  should  be 
a  revivalist,  and  should  be  fully  able  to  do  his  own  preach- 
ing, without  depending  on  others  for  help;  for  work 
accomplished  by  a  stranger,  however  skillful  and  exten- 
sive, will  not  result  in  as  much  permanent  good  to  a 
congregation  as  that  which  is  performed  by  its  own  pastor, 
who  is  supposed  to  be  better  able  to  nurture  the  souls 
begotten  in  the  gospel  through  his  personal  labors,  than 
the  spiritual  sons  and  daughters  of  other  men.  Generally, 
those  converted  under  the  pastor's  labors  will  remain  with 

I  Murphy's  Pa&torral  Theology,  p.  336. 


250  The  Preacher  and  His  Sennon. 

his  congregation  after  the  revival  heat  has  subsided,  and 
will  gratefully  respect  his  ministry  for  the  benefits  which 
they  have  received  from  his  faithful  labors  for  their  salva- 
tion. 

2.  What  portion  of  revival  preaching  should  be  devoted 
to  children? 

^0  revival  meeting  should  be  continued  in  utter  forget- 
fulness  of  the  children,  who  need  conversion  as  certainly  as 
do  adults,  and  who  may  become  the  most  promising  fruits 
of  such  religous  efforts.  But  the  methods  of  addressing  and 
instructing  them  are  so  different  from  those  employed  with 
adults,  that  separate  services  should  be  held  for  them.  By 
holding  an  early  meeting  for  children  before  the  regular 
hour  of  service,  or  a  daily  meeting  of  the  Sunday-school 
for  about  three-fourths  of  an  hour,  during  the  progress  of 
a  protracted  service,  for  special  revival -work  among  the 
children,  at  which  the  pastor  will  preach  a  short  sermon  to 
them  and  engage  the  teachers  and  officers  in  labor  for  their 
conversion,  the  pastor  may  often  secure  the  conversion 
of  the  young  while  conducting  other  meetings  for  the 
benefit  of  adults.  But  perhaps  a  better  way  is  to  devote  a 
fortnight  or  a  month  exclusively  to  children,  because  of 
the  better  opportunity  it  affords  for  adjusting  and  adapting 
all  energies  to  this  special  interest. 

The  preaching,  in  matter,  will  be  mainly  as  already 
described  in  this  chapter,  remembering,  of  course,  the 
child's  relation  to  the  atonement,  and  strongly  emphasizing 
the  simplicity  of  salvation,  the  advantage  of  early  conver- 
sion, and  the  Savior's  special  love  to  the  little  ones.  In 
manner,  we  can  not  be  too  plain  and  practical  in  urging 
them  to  accept  Christ. 


PreacJmig  of  Some  Eminent  Revivalists.       251 

§    V.      CHARACTER   OF    THE    PREACHING    OF    SOME    OF     THE   MOST 
EMINENT   REVIVALISTS. 

1.  Jonathan  Edwards  was  the  Boanerges  of  revival  preach- 
ers; and  his  sermons  struck  terror  to  the  hearts  of  sinners.* 
He  stands  pre-eminent  "  as  a  preacher  of  the  divine  law, 
of  the  divine  sovereignty,  of  man's  entire  sinfulness  by 
nature,  of  justification  by  faith,  and  of  eternal  punishment. 
*  *  *  *  Jje  seldom  made  a  gesture;  his  voice  was  not 
commanding;  his  power  was  that  of  deep  thought  and 
strong  feeling.  *  *  *  *  ^  gentleman  remarked  to  Presi- 
dent Dwight  that  when,  in  his  youth,  he  heard  Mr.  Ed- 
wards describe  the  day  of  judgment,  he  fully  supposed  that 
immediately  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  '  the  Judge  would 
descend,  and  the  final  separation  take  place.'  "^ 

2.  George  Whitefield  was  pre-eminently  successful  as  a  re- 
vival preacher.  He  often  preached  two  and  three  times  a 
day,  to  audiences  of  from  three  to  eight  thousand;  and 
sometimes  hundreds  were  converted  in  one  day  under  the 
power  of  his  preaching.  He  traveled  about,  and  preached 
over  eighteen  thousand  sermons,  crossing  the  Atlantic 
thirteen  times  on  his  mission.^  He  preached  the  old  doc- 
trines of  grace  in  their  simplicity  and  power,  the  new  birth 
being  his  great  theme  everywhere.  His  great  power  con- 
sisted in  his  matchless  force  of  delivery.  His  elegant  voice 
was  more  perfect  than  any  other  known  to  history;  and  it 
was  this  which  the  great  actor  Garrick  most  coveted  when 
he  said,  "  I  would  give  a  hundred  guineas  if  I  could  say 

1  One  of  his  most  terrific  sermons  was  preached  in  Enfield,  on  the  subject,  "  Sinners 
in  the  Hands  of  an  Angry  God."  The  people  in  cliurch,  before  that  sermon  began,  were 
thoughtless  and  unconcerned;  but  before  he  finished  his  sermon  "  thei-e  was  such  a 
breathing  of  distress  and  weeping  that  the  preacher  was  obliged  to  speak  to  the  people 
and  desire  silence  that  he  might  be  heard."  It  was  during  the  delivery  of  this  sermon 
that  the  pastor  of  the  congregation  to  which  he  preached  tried  to  arrest  the  torrent  of  his 
appalling  eloquence  by  pulling  Edwards' coat-tail  and  crying  out,  "  Mr.  Edwards!  Mr. 
Edwards!    is  not  God  merciful,  too?  " 

2  E.  A.  Park,  in  McClintock  &  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  Art.  Jonathan  Edwards. 

3  Dr.  Chauncy  says,  "Itinerant  preaching  had  its  rise  from  Mr.  Whitefield." 


252  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

^  Oh!'  like  Mr.  Whitefield."^  But  behind  it  all  were  a  con- 
fiecrated  life  and  a  spirit  yearning  for  men's  salvation, 
which  made  him  the  most  seraphic  orator  of  modern 
times.^  And  thus  with  voice  and  heart  he  addressed  the 
•conscience,  until  men  trembled  under  a  sense  of  their  guilt 
before  a  holy  God,  and  the  cries  and  groans  of  the  people 
sometimes  nearly  drowned  his  voice. 

3.  Gilbert  Tennent.  His  preaching  "was  frequently  both 
terrible  and  searching.  It  was  often,  for  matter,  justly 
terrible,  as  he,  according  to  the  Inspired  Oracle,  exhibited 
the  dreadful  holiness,  justice,  law,  threatenings,  truth, 
power,  and  majesty  of  God.  It  was  not  merely,  nor  so 
much,  his  laying  open  the  terrors  of  the  law  and  wrath  of 
•God,  or  damnation  of  hell,  as  his  laying  open  their  many 
vain  and  secret  shifts  and  refuges,  counterfeit  resemblances 
of  grace,  delusive  and  dawning  hopes,  their  utter  impo- 
tence, and  impending  danger  of  destruction."  He  was 
much  associated  with  Whitefield,  who  said  of  his  preach- 
ing, "I  never  heard  such  searching  sermons.  Being  deeply 
convicted  of  sin  by  God's  Holy  Spirit,  at  his  first  conver- 
sion, Mr.  Tennent  has  learned  experimentally  to  dissect  the 
heart  of  the  natural  man.  He  is  a  son  of  thunder,  and  does 
not  fear  the  faces  of  men." 

4.  Asahel  Netileton.^  He  could  adapt  himself  to  every 
peculiar  state  of  a  revival,  and  every  condition  of  individ- 
ual experience.  His  preaching  was  intellectual,  doctrinal, 
and  experimental.  "  He  introduced  the  doctrine  of  de- 
pravity, and   made  direct  assaults  on   the  consciences  of 


1  Whitefleld's  printed  sermons  are  not  fair  specimens  of  his  preaching,  because  the 
merit  of  his  sermons  consisted  mostly  in  their  delivery. 

2  "Whitefield  was  the  greatest  gospel  orator  of  the  age." — Tyerman,  Whitefleld's 
last  biographer.  "  His  eloquence  was  great,  and  of  the  true  and  noblest  kind." — Dr.  Gil- 
lies.   "  One  of  the  greatest  of  all  pulpit  orators." — Dr.  Thompson. 

3  With  the  beginning  of  the  work  of  this  revivalist,  preaching  became  of  a  milder  type. 
Edwards,  Whitefield,  and  the  Tennents  preached  during  the  period  of  church  formalism. 


Preaching  of  Some  Eminent  Revivalists.       255 

sinners,  explained  regeneration,  and  cut  off  self- righteous- 
ness, and  enforced  immediate  repentance  and  faith."  ^ 

His  powers  of  description  were  remarkable.  On  one 
occasion,  when  he  was  preaching  on  the  deluge,  it  is  said 
"the  house  was  filled  with  consternation,  as  if  they  heard 
the  falling  of  the  rain,  the  roaring  of  the  waves,  the  cries 
of  the  drowning,  the  bellowing  of  cattle,  the  neighing  of 
horses,  amid  the  darkness  and  desolation." 

As  to  style,  he  was  simple,  and  spoke  in  a  clear  voice, 
rather  slowly  and  hesitatingly  at  first,  but  with  gradually 
increasing  power  until,  before  the  close,  his  speech  waa 
like  a  mighty  torrent  bearing  down  all  before  it.  ^ 

5.  Daniel  Baker.  His  preaching  was  full  of  doctrine, 
earnestness,  unction,  directness,  pungency,  and  tenderness. 
All  men  were  made  to  feel,  under  his  pleadings,  that  his 
chief  object  was  to  save  their  souls.  Though  his  sermons 
were  written,  and  mostly  delivered  memoriter,  without 
changing  a  word  or  sentence,  yet  such  was  the  impression 
which  they  made  that  no-  one  who  heard  them  could  ever 
forget  them.  He  had  the  zeal  of  Whitefield,  the  affection 
of  Murphy,  and  the  evangelical  spirit  of  Moody. 

6.  Charles  G.  Finney  was  master  of  the  situation  in 
conducting  revivals.  His  sermons  were  searching,  scorch- 
ing, withering.  He  was  fully  at  home  in  the  domain  of 
divine  law  and  government;  he  gave  clear  and  well-defined 
views  of  sin,  conscience,  and  of  man's  moral  convictions; 
he  "justified  God's  ways,  and  condemned  the  sinner's;" 
sinners  he  blamed  as  guilty,  and  not  simply  unfortunate; 

1  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher. 

2  His  biographer  gives  a  specimen  of  his  deliberate  and  novel  way  of  introducing  his 
sermon:  "  As  he  arose  slowly,  every  eye  was  fixed  upon  him,  and  a  breathless  silence 
pervaded  the  assembly.  With  great  solemnity  he  looked  upon  the  congregation  and 
thus  began:  '  What  is  that  murmur  which  I  hear?  —  I  wish  I  had  a  new  heart.  What 
shall  I  do?  They  tell  me  to  repent  — I  can't  repent—  I  wish  they  would  give  me  soma 
other  direction.'  He  thus  went  on  for  a  short  time,  personating  the  awakened  sinner 
and  bringmg  out  the  feelings  of  his  heart.  He  then  changed  the  form  of  his  address, 
and  in  a  solemn  and  aflfeetionate  manner  appealed  to  the  consciences  of  his  hearers." 


254  '^^^^  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermoii, 

he  denounced  popular  sins  without  flinching;  he  sub-soiled 
the  sinner's  heart  with  tremendously  close  preaching  of 
personal  guilt,  and  made  the  "  sword  of  the  Spirit "  cut 
to  the  very  marrow  of  human  feeling;  "  he  put  his  plow 
in  deep,  clear  under  men's  secret  motives,  and  it  made 
ripping  work."^  Such  preaching  produced  acute,  pungent 
convictions,  and  clear,  genuine,  and  permanent  conversions. 
Men  of  intellect  and  culture,  lawyers,  judges,  physicians, 
merchants,  skeptics,  and  scofters  were  reached  by  his  trench- 
ant arguments,  and  thoroughly  converted.  As  to  the 
order  of  topics,  he  preached,  first,  the  law,  then  the  gos- 
pel, in  order  to  create  a  sense  of  sin  and  a  need  of  Christ. 
After  preaching  death  as  the  wages  of  sin,  love  would  then 
appear  more  glorious  because  it  saves  from  wrath  deserved. 
He  always  pressed  the  duty  of  instant  surrender  to  God. 

7.  E.  P.  Hammond  "  has  been  called  the  children's 
evangelist.  While  his  work  is  not  given  exclusively  to 
the  young,  it  is  in  this  direction  that  his  success  has 
been  most  marked.  He  has  taught  the  church  a  lesson 
concerning  early  conversions  which  will  be  useful  in  all 
coming  time.  *  *  *  *  The  church  will,  perhaps,  advance 
by  increasing  experience  to  better  methods  than  have 
yet  been  adopted.  But  the  essential  idea  that  supports 
the  work  among  children,  both  in  Sunday-rschools  and 
revival  meetings,  that  little  ones  can  be  soundly  converted, 
that  the  law  of  spiritual  growth  from  very  feeble  begin- 
nings may  be  emphasized  in  religious  life,  and  children  be 
trained  up  in  the  church,  rather  than  recovered  to  it  after 
prolonged  wandering,  is  one  that  will  throw  heavenly  radi- 
ance on  all  the  future  life  of  the  church."^  The  substance 
of  his  sermons  essentially  is  sin  and  redemption.  He  has 
clear,  well  illustrated  statements  of  the  cross  of  Christ  as 
the  central  doctrine.     He  dwells  much  upon  the  Father- 

I  T.  L.  Cuylor. 

a  Chaa.  L.  Thompson's  History  of  American  Eivivals. 


Preacki?ig  of  Some  Emi7ient  Revivalists.       255 

hood  of  God  and  the  joyfulness  of  Christianity.  He  is 
apt  in  illustrations,  which  makes  him  especially  interesting 
to  children.  He  is  considered  by  some  too  dramatic  in 
style;  but  this  is  only  the  manner  in  which  his  great  ear- 
nestness often  manifests  itself. 

8.  D.  L.  Moody  has  opened  a  new  epoch  in  modern 
revivals,  and  his  sermons  have,  in  a  measure,  revolution- 
ized modern  preaching,  especially  in  respect  to  sim'plicity 
and  naturalness  of  style.  He  uses  familiar  household 
words,  talks  freely  and  in  a  straightforward  manner,  just 
as  he  would  talk  earnestly  to  a  few  friends  at  his  fireside ; 
and  by  this  perfect  naturalness,  he  disarms  critics  and 
secures  their  united  interest.  By  his  passionate  earnest- 
ness and  happy  power  of  illustration,  he  modernizes  and 
vitalizes  the  facts  of  scripture  so  that  they  stand  out  in 
new  and  living  colors.  He  often  repeats  sermons  and 
illustrations,  but,  usually,  with  increased  interest  and  power. 
His  logic  is  not  that  of  method,  but  of  fact  and  experience. 
He  thoroughly  understands  human  nature,  and  Bible  teach- 
ings; and  these  two  antipodes  are  brought  together  face  to 
face,  with  unerring  accuracy  and  searching  force.  As  to 
the  matter  of  his  preaching,  it  consists  of  the  various 
revival-topics;  but  special  prominence  is  given  to  the  im- 
portance and  simplicity  oi  faith  in  the  matter  of  salvation. 
The  secret  of  his  success  in  preaching  consists  in  an  irre- 
pressible ardor  of  personal  conviction,  a  consciousness  that 
God  is  with  him,  utter  forgetfulness  of  self,  and  a  deep, 
unaffected  zeal  for  men's  salvation.  Here  is  the  hiding  of 
his  power.^ 

I  Every  minister  who  wishes  to  become  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  revivals  should 
read  such  works  as  Gillies'  Historical  Collections,  Kirk's  Lectures  on  Revivals,  Headley's 
Harvest  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Earle's  Bringing  in  Sheaves,  Tracy's  Oreat  Awakening, 
Fisk's  Hand  -  book  of  Revivals,  Townsend's  Supernatural  Factor  in  Revivals,  Humphry's 
Revival  Sketches  and  Manual,  and  Thompson's  Times  of  Refreshing.  Finney's  Revival  Lect- 
ures are  very  excellent.  His  revival  sermons  collected  into  a  volume  entitled  Oospel 
Themes  are  a  fair  specimen  of  his  preaching.  Moody  recommends  the  revival  sermons 
of  Daniel  Baker.    The  biographies  of  revivalists  are  also  profitable  reading. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

SERMONS  TO  CHILDREN. 

Reasons  for  Preaching  to  Children  —  Qualifications  for  Preaching  to  Chil- 
dren—  Diflferent  Methods  of  Preaching  to  Children  —  Matter  for  the 
Children's  Sermon  —  Manner  of  Preaching  to  Children  —  Benefits  Re- 
sulting from  Preaching  to  Children. 

"  Papa,"  said  a  preacher's  little  girl  one  Sunday  morn- 
ing, "  are  you  going  to  say  anything  to-day  that  I  can 
understand?"  The  father  profited  by  this  innocent  rebuke^ 
and  that  day,  for  the  first  time,  after  preaching  a  short 
time,  he  surprised  his  audience  by  saying,  "  Now,  children, 
I  will  say  something  to  you  about  this."  So  much  has 
been  written  and  spoken  on  the  subject  of  sermonizing,  by 
our  homiletical  authors  and  lecturers,  without  scarcely  ever 
saying  a  word  on  the  importance  of  preaching  to  the 
children^  that  we  are  warned  by  this  culpable  oversight  in 
our  homiletical  treatises  and  weekly  pulpit  ministrations, 
to  "say  something  to  you  about  this" — this  subject  of 
preaching  to  children. 

It  is,  however,  a  favorable  omen,  tliat  just  now,  from 
every  quarter  of  the  globe,  there  come  evidences  of  the 
beginning  of  a  reformation  —  a  plea  for  the  child,  a 
vindication  of  its  ri2:hts  in  the  Christian  church.  The 
claims  which  the  child  has  upon  the  various  services  of  the 
sanctuary,  are  beginning  to  be  acknowledged  and  urged  by 
every  Christian  denomination.  "  While  adults  are,  per- 
haps, not  to  have  less  attention  than  before,  the  child  is 
coming  to  the  front  as  the  one  who  is  henceforth  to  absorb 

256 


Reasons  for  Preaching  to   Children.  257 

most  of  her  activity." '  We  congratulate  the  church  that 
she  is  now  awakening  to  the  importance  of  this  long- 
neglected  subject,  and  that  therefore  her  future  prospects 
are  more  hopeful. 

Our  times,  then,  demand  ministers  who  are  qualified  for 
this  work;  and  our  theological  seminaries  should  arrange 
their  course  of  study  with  special  reference  to  this  growing 
demand;^  for  so  far  as  they  neglect  this  requirement,  do  they 
neglect  the  greatest  interest  of  the  church.  The  preacher 
who  does  not  understand  the  method  of  working  among 
children,  can  no,t  long  maintain  his  influence  in  the  parish; 
and  he  who  can  not  interest  the  children  in  his  preaching, 
will  hardly  interest  the  grown  people.  Hence,  the  science 
of  preaching  to  children  must  hereafter  become  an  indis- 
pensable addition  to  every  treatise  on  homiletics. 

§   I.      REASONS   FOR   PREACHING   TO    CHILDREN. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  we  should  preach  to  children  for 
the  same  reason  that  we  preach  to  adults.  They  are 
included  in  the  general  commission,  "  Go,  and  teach  all 
nations,"  and  are  equally  recognized  and  especially  des- 
ignated in  Christ's  direct  command  to  Peter;  for  He  did 
not  only  say,  "  Feed  my  sheep,"  but  also,  "  Feed  my 
lambs."  In  many  other  scriptural  injunctions  are  they 
commended  to  our  care,  as  subjects  of  public  instruction 
through  the  instrumentality  of  preaching.^  And  it  would 
be  a  reproach  to  Christianity  to  slight  her  little  ones  in  any 
matter  of  religious  training;  for  even  the  more  intelligent 

1  Dr.  H.  A.  Thompson's  address  before  the  Methodist  Ecumenical  Council,  held  in 
London,  England,  September  10,  1881. 

2  The  Senior  Class  of  Andover  Theological  Seminary  ia  given  a  series  of  lectures  on 
Sunday  -  school  work.  No  doubt  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Thompson  before  the  Interna- 
tional Sunday-school  Convention  of  1881,  Union  Biblical  Seminary,  of  Dayton,  Ohio, 
has  also  arranged  a  course  of  study  for  the  training  of  young  men  for  work  among  the 
children,  and  other  institutions  are  beginning  to  follow  the  worthy  example. 

3  See  Exodus  xii.  25,  26,  27;  Deuteronomy  xi.  19,  xxxi.  12,  13;  ProYerba  xzii.  Ol 
luiah  liv.  13;  Matthew  xix.  13, 14;  Mark  x.  16;  Luke  ix.  48. 

17 


258  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

heathen  of  antiquity  saw  the  importance  of  giving  special 
attention  to  the  training  of  their  children.  Hence  Solon, 
Draco,  and  Lycurgus  composed  their  laws  in  verse  for  the 
youth  of  Greece,  and  mothers  sung  them  to  their  children. 
"Who  would  say  that  children  do  not  need  instruction  in 
righteousness,  and  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
God,  as  much  as  do  older  persons?  "Why  should  not  the 
pulpit  exert  as  good  an  influence  over  the  child  as  over  the 
parent?  "VVhy  should  it  not  be  alike  instrumental  in  their 
conversion  ? 

Irenseus,  of  the  first  century,  says,  "He  [Jesus  Christ] 
came  to  save  all  persons  by  himself, —  all,  I  say,  who  are 
regenerated  by  him  unto  God,  infants  and  little  ones,  and 
children,  and  young  and  old  men."  Says  Dr.  Tyng,  sen., 
after  a  long  pastoral  experience,  "I  solemnly  believe  in  the 
conversion  of  children.  I  can  not  say  how  young  the 
children  should  be  brought  to  make  an  open  profession  of 
their  faith  and  love  for  Christ,  but  I  have  seen  as  manifest 
evidences  of  the  new  birth  in  children  of  six  and  eight 
years  of  age  as  I  have  seen  in  any  adult.  We  are  in  an 
age  when  the  church  is  to  take  the  children,  nurse  them, 
train  them,  educate  them,  protect  them,  and  prepare  them 
for  the  work  appointed  for  them."  And  Dr.  J.  H.  Vincent, 
the  Sunday-school  champion,  also  gives  this  testimony: 
"  "Whatever  be  the  theological  opinion  and  ecclesiastical  pol- 
icy with  reference  to  children,  and  their  religious  life  and 
relations,  one  thing  is  incontrovertible:  the  earlier  a  child 
can  be  brought  to  a  personal  recognition  of  Jesus  as  his 
Savior,  and  to  a  personal  identification  with  the  church, 
the  better  for  him.  Baptized  or  unbaptized  in  infancy;  at 
birth  a  sinner,  or,  by  the  provision  of  grace,  virtually  a 
saint;  with  these  questions  we  have  not  now  to  do;  but  as 
early  in  the  child's  life  as  possible,  we  say,  teach  him  im- 
plicit trust  in  Christ,  and  the  full  consecration  of  his  little 
life  and  all  its  possibilities  to  Christ." 


Reasons  for  Preaching  to   Children.  259 

The  cliild,  then,  being  a  proper  subject  for  admission 
into  church-fellowship  through  essentially  the  same  proc- 
ess required  by  adults,  and  being  included  in  the  preach- 
er's divine  commission  as  a  proper  subject  of  instruction, 
we  must  conclude  that  it  has  as  much  claim  upon  pulpit 
recognition  as  has  any  other  class  of  hearers.  It  is  radi- 
cally wrong  for  the  church  not  to  care  for  her  lambs,  and 
to  leave  them  at  the  mercy  of  surrounding  influences. 
Richard  Newton,  in  speaking  of  the  pernicious  practice  of 
many  mothers  who  intrust  their  little  ones  to  nursing  serv- 
ants, says,  "  But  is  not  the  church,  to  a  great  extent, 
justly  chargeable  with  this  same  oft'ense?  God  designed 
the  church  to  be  the  nursing  mother  of  her  children.  Her 
solemn,  bounden,  paramount  duty  is  to  take  care  of  her 
little  ones,  and  make  the  best  provisions  possible  for  their 
instruction.  *  *  *  *  Catechising,  Sunday-schools,  good 
books,  etc.,  are  not  sufficient.  It  is  only  providing  foster- 
agents.  *  *  *  *  The  church  speaks  authoritatively  mainly 
through  her  ministers  in  the  sanctuary.  Her  children 
have  a  right  to  look  for  nursing  at  her  own  bosom,  and 
for  instruction  at  her  own  lips." 

2.  We  may  expect  more  fruitful  results  from  our  preach- 
ing to  children,  than  from  our  appeals  to  any  other  class  of 
hearers.  The  youths  are  the  most  hopeful  portion  of  our 
congregations.  They  are  the  most  susceptible  to  impres- 
sions, and  are  most  easily  won  for  Christ;  and  if  the  golden 
opportunity  of  bringing  them  into  the  fold  be  postponed 
until  maturer  years  shall  have  enchained  them  in  habits  of 
vice,  they  may  be  forever  and  hopelessly  lost  to  the  church. 

Some  of  the  most  permanent  and  useful  Christians  were 
converted  during  childhood.  Polycarp  was  converted  at 
nine  years  of  age,  Matthew  Henry  at  eleven.  President 
Edwards  at  seven,  Dr.  Watts  at  nine,  Bishop  Hall  at  eleven, 
and  Robert  Hall  at  twelve.     Voltaire,  Tom  Paine,  Rous- 


26o  The  Preacher  and  His  Sennofi, 

seau,  and  a  host  of  others  might  have  beeu  saved  from  infi- 
delity, and  brought  into  the  pale  of  the  church,  had  she 
done  her  duty  toward  them  while  they  were  yet  children. 
The  church  should  heed  the  words  expressed  by  one  of 
her  staunch  enemies, — "  Give  me  the  lirst  live  years  of  the 
life  of  a  child,  and  I  will  make  of  it  a  saint  or  a  devil;" 
she  should  understand  that  it  is  ten  times  more  difficult  to- 
convert  the  adult  than  the  child,  and  that  the  future  battle 
between  Protestantism  and  Catholicism  is  as  to  who  shall 
have  the  child.  The  best  way  to  conquer  skepticism,  in- 
temperance, and  all  forms  of  vice,  is  to  get  all  the  children 
into  the  church,  and  train  them  in  her  doctrines  and  prac- 
tices. Dr.  Holland  has  expressed  his  convictions  on  this 
point  very  plainly  and  forcibly, — "  We  can  raise  more 
Christians  by  juvenile  Christian  culture  than  by  adult  con- 
version—  a  thousand  more."  And  Chas.  H.  Spurgeon,  the 
great  London  preacher,  testifies  to  the  permanence  of  child 
conversion  in  the  following  statement:  "I  have  during  the 
past  year  received  forty  or  fifty  children  into  church-mem- 
bership. Among  these  I  have  not  had,  at  any  time,  to- 
exclude  one  from  church-fellowship.  Out  of  a  church- 
membership  of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  members  I 
have  never  had  to  exclude  a  single  one  who  was  received 
while  yet  a  child."  If  this  matter  had  not  been  so  long 
and  sadly  neglected,  we  might  have  two  members  in  the 
church  where  now  there  is  only  one;  and  pastors  who  for- 
get the  children  of  their  parishes,  are  neglecting  a  fruitful 
field  of  usefulness.  Rev.  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  near  the  close 
of  his  life,  said,  "If  I  had  my  ministry  to  go  over  again,  I 
would  ffive  more  attention  to  the  children."     Dr.  Samuel 

o 

Miller  gave  this  emphatic  testimony:  "  After  the  observa- 
tions and  experience  of  a  long  life,  I  have  come  decisively 
to  the  conclusion,  that  if  I  had  my  life  to  live  over  again  I 
would  pay  ten  times  as  much  attention  to  the  young  of  my 
charge  as  I  ever  did." 


Reasons  for  Preaching  to   Children.  261 

"With  the  conviction  that  the  children  are  the  most  hope- 
ful portions  of  the  race,  and  with  the  present  indications 
of  increased  interest  in  child-conversion,  we  may  predict 
an  improvement  in  the  method  of  securing  church-mem- 
bers in  the  near  future.  Bishop  Simpson  says,  "  I  am 
satisfied  that  the  day  is  coming,  when  in  our  church,  and 
in  all  churches  of  the  world,  we  shall  look  chiefly  to  the 
conversion  of  children,  and  as  a  comparatively  rare  in- 
stance, to  the  conversion  of  those  in  maturer  years;" 
Bishop  Janes  declared  that  the  time  is  coming,  when  there 
will  be  two  sermons  preached  to  children  and  youth,  where 
there  is  one  to  adults;  and  Dr.  T.  L.  Cuyler,  with  a  keen 
perception  of  what  is  before  us,  says  emphatically,  "Breth- 
ren, our  pulpits  have  got  to  get  hold  of  the  young,  or  the 
next  generation  will  see  emptier  pews  than  we  see  to-day." 

3.  Another  reason  for  preaching  to  children  is,  that  we 
may  thereby  secure  their  attendance  at  the  public  services. 
The  question,  "  How  shall  we  get  our  young  people  to 
■attend  church?"  which  for  years  has  perplexed  ministry 
and  laity,  is  at  last  solved  by  the  introduction  of  the 
•children's  sermon  into  the  regular  Sabbath-services.  If 
the  services  are  not  made  intelligible  and  interesting  to 
them,  what  inducement  is  there  for  them  to  attend  church? 

A  little  girl  was  talking  to  her  mother  about  heaven. 
She  said,  "Mamma,  are  there  any  picture-books  in  heaven?" 
"  iTo,"  replied  the  parent.  "  No  Noah's  Ark?"  (the  name 
of  a  toy  she  especially  liked).  "  ISfo,"  came  the  response. 
^' No  dolls?"  "No,"  emphatically  answered  her  mother. 
The  little  child  dropped  her  head,  evidently  reflecting,  and 
after  a  long  pause  she  closed  her  meditation  with  a  long- 
drawn  sigh :  "  Well,  then,  I  believe  I'll  take  dollie  and  go 
to  hell."  Of  course  this  mother  evidently  made  a  wrong 
impression  on  her  child's  mind,  by  answering  "No"  to  all 
its  questions  without  some  qualifications;  for  Christ  said  to 


262  The  Preacher  and  His  Sei'mon. 

each  oue,  "  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  yow,"  and  if  lie  pre- 
pares a  place  suitable  and  interesting  for  Milton,  the  poet^ 
and  Locke,  the  philosopher,  and  Newton,  the  mathema- 
tician, and  Agassiz,  the  scientist,  he  also  adapts  heaven  ta 
the  enjoyment  of  little  children  and  prattling  infants.  But 
the  example  serves  to  illustrate,  that  if  children  will  not 
want  to  go  to  the  heavenly  sanctuary  above,  unless  they 
can  be  made  to  believe  that  there  is  something  there  to 
interest  them,  much  less  will  they  want  to  come  to  our 
earthly  sanctuaries  below,  unless  they  also  be  made  inviting 
and  attractive  by  services  adapted  to  their  wants  and  pre- 
dilection. 

Dr.  Richard  l!Tewton,  in  speaking  of  the  importance  ot 
making  the  children  feel  that  they  have  a  part  in  the  ser- 
vices, says,  "  Need  we  wonder  that  our  children  generally 
have  so  little  of  this  feeling  in  reference  to  the  services  of 
the  sanctuary,  when  they  go  there  week  after  week,  month 
after  month,  and  year  after  year,  without  finding  them- 
selves distinctly  recognized,  or  having  any  instruction 
addressed  to  them  which  was  at  all  within  the  range  of 
their  comprehension?  Let  us  put  ourselves  in  their  situa- 
tion. Let  us  suppose  the  sermon  to  which  we  listen  every 
Sabbath  delivered  in  an  unknown  tongue, —  and  the  ordi- 
nary run  of  sermons  are  essentially  so  to  our  children, — 
and  what  degree  of  attraction  would  the  church  present  tO' 
us?     What  interest  would  we  manifest  in  its  services?'* 

It  is  useless  for  a  pastor  to  urge  the  parents  to  bring 
their  children  to  church,  until  he  himself  creates  within  the 
youths  a  desire  to  be  there  by  saying  something  to  them  in 
his  sermon  that  will  pay  them  for  coming  to  hear  it. 


Qualifications  for  Preachiiig  to   Children.      263 

§   n.      QUALIFICATIONS   FOR   PREACHINa   TO    CHILDREN.^ 

Many  ministers  who  habitually  neglect  the  children  in 
the  public  service,  excuse  themselves  on  the  plea  that  they 
have  no  ability  for  addressing  children.  To  this  it  may  be 
answered,  that  the  time  was  when  they  could  not  preach 
to  adults.  Had  they  never  applied  themselves  to  this 
department  of  ministerial  duties,  they  could  not  now  preach 
at  all.  Among  those  who  are  successful  preachers  to  little 
ones,  few  are  such  because  of  a  natural  talent  for  this  par- 
ticular work;  most  have  acquired  the  art  by  careful  study 
and  practice.  ISTor  will  the  acquisition  of  this  art  interfere 
with  our  efficiency  in  preaching  to  adult  hearers,^  but 
rather  increase  it,  according  to  the  testimony  of  all  who 
have  had  the  most  experience  in  practicing  both  methods.^ 

The  following  are  some  of  the  essential  elements  of 
success  in  preaching  to  children: 

1.  A  real  love  for  the  children.  This  is  an  indispensa- 
ble qualification.  It  is  a  requisite  based  in  the  example  of 
the  Great  Teacher  himself,  who  so  ardently  loved  the  little 
ones  that  he  took  them  in  his  arms  when  he  preached  to 
them;  and  as  if  he  wished  especially  .to  impress  this  im- 
portant requisite  on  Peter's  mind,  He  asked  him,  "  Lovest 
thou  me?" — "Feed  my  lambs."  Hence,  "A  Christ -loving 
pastor  is  a  child -loving  pastor."*  A  man  who  does  not 
love  children  will  never  succeed  in  preaching  to  them.  "  I 
hold  the  proposition  of  this  feeling  as  entitled  to  a  high 
rank  among  the  indispensable  qualifications  for  the  office 
of  the  ministry.  I  should  as  soon  think  of  recommend- 
ing a  man  to  go  to  sea  who  was  suffering  from  hydropho- 

1  On  this  subject  we  are  Indebted  to  Dr  Richard  Newton  for  many  valuable  sug- 
gestions. 

2  Phillips  Brooks,  in  his  Yale  Lectures,  expresses  the  fear  that  preaching  to  children 
may  mpair  the  power  of  preaching  to  adults. 

3  See  close  of  this  chapter. 

4  Dr.  Tyng. 


264  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

bia,  or  of  enlisting  him  as  a  soldier  when  he  had  a  con- 
stitutional and  unconquerable  dread  of  the  smell  of  gun- 
powder, as  of  recommending  a  man  to  enter  the  ministry 
who  had  a  positive  dislike  for  children."  ^  An  affectionate 
devotion  to  children  is  the  best  incentive  to  the  acquisition 
of  eminent  success  in  preaching  to  them. 

2.  The  hahit  of  forming  distinct  and  dear  ideas  of  the 
subject  handled.  The  preacher  should  know  exactly  what 
he  wants  to  say,  not  only  in  the  main  divisions,  but  also  in 
the  subordinate  points  of  his  discourse.  ISTothing  is  so 
fatal  to  success  as  want  of  preparation  in  this  respect,  and 
nothing  is  so  uninteresting  as  to  listen  to  a  speaker  whose 
mind,  while  speaking,  is  moving  in  a  region  of  clouds  and 
fogs.  "All  the  important  saving  truths  and  practical  duties 
of  religion  admit  of  being  clearly  and  distinctly  appre- 
hended; and  without  the  habit  of  forming  clear,  simple, 
and  well  -  defined  views  of  these  truths,  no  success  need  be 
expected  in  addressing  children.  If  a  man  will  succeed  in 
preaching  to  the  young,  he  must  school  himself  to  this 
habit  of  mind;  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  habits 
for  a  minister  or  teacher  to  acquire."  ^ 

3.  A  natural,  simple,  and  well-defined  plan  or  arrange- 
ment of  the  subject  of  address.  The  subject  should  be 
divided  into  natural  and  distinct  heads,  which  should  be 
clearly  enumerated  and  announced,  and  repeated,  so  that 
they  may  be  easily  understood  and  remembered.  "  In 
speaking  to  children  the  preacher  must  not  only  have  a 
distinct  plan  in  his  oum  mind,  but  he  must  make  it  distinct 
and  clear  to  the  minds  of  his  hearers."^  He  must  make 
them  see  each  idea;  for  children  will  not  likely  grasp  a  dis- 
course unless  it  has  some  prominent  points  which  they  can 
perceive  and  carry  home.     "  No  teaching  will  do  any  good, 

X  Newton.  a  Ibid.  3  Ibid. 


Methods  of  Preaching  to   Children.  265 

unless  so  plain  that  it  can  not  be  misunderstood,  and  so 
interesting  that  it  can  not  be  forgotten."^'  ^ 

4.  An  easy,  natural,  and  uiiassumiiig  style  of  delivery.  A 
dignified  disposition,  or  a  stifF  manner  of  address,  will  fail 
to  interest  the  children.  The  usual  pulpit  style,  also,  espe- 
cially when  of  an  essay  or  oratorical  nature,  consisting  of 
learned  expressions,  vocal  vehemence,  wild  gesticulations, 
or  anything  that  borders  on  the  "  bow-wow "  style,  must 
all  be  laid  aside  when  we  speak  to  children,  and,  instead,  a 
mode  of  delivery  be  adopted  that  will  be  perfectly  natural 
and  intelligible  to  them.  Perhaps  the  best  way  of  knowing 
what  this  style  should  be,  is  to  study  their  habits  and 
manner  of  thinking  and  feeling,  and  to  try  to  put  our- 
selves in  their  situation,  in  order  to  adapt  ourselves  to  their 
ways  and  disposition. 

§    III.      DIFFERENT    METHODS    OF    PREACHING   TO    CHILDREN. 

Among  those  pastors  who  preach  regularly  to  children, 
no  uniform  plan  has  been  adopted.  It  is  to  be  supposed 
that  every  preacher  will  adopt  any  method  by  which  he 
■can  the  most  successfully  reach  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
his  juvenile  congregation.  Hence,  we  will  here  describe 
-some  of  the  methods  which  have  proved  most  successful, 

1.  The  Sermonette.  This  is  a  short  sermon  for  the  little 
ones,  of  five  or  ten  minutes'  length,  and  delivered  before 
the  regular  sermon  to  adults  at  each  Sabbath-morning 
service.  This  was  the  custom  of  Dr.  Doddridge,  over  a 
century  ago,  and  is  the  plan  adopted  by  Revs.  Xewman 
Hall,  W.  F.  Crafts,  L,  D.  Bevan,  J.  G.  Merrill,  and  others. 
It  may  be  introduced  after  the  reading-lesson,  or  before  the 

1  John  Todd,  D.  D.,  in  preface  to  his  Lectures  to  Children. 

2  The  following  plan  is  from  a  sermon  of  Richard  Newton,  as  given  in  Dr.  Murphy's 
Pastoral  Theology.  The  text  is,  "  The  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth."  Ephesians  iii. 
15.  Introduction  —  What  is  meant  by  this  family?  1st.  It  is  a  family  composed  of  old 
and  young.  2d.  It  is  a  large  family.  3d.  It  is  an  old  family.  4th.  It  is  a  happy  family, 
8th.  It  is  an  honorable  family.    6th.  It  is  a  useful  family,    7th.  Are  you  in  that  family? 


266  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

hymn  immediately  preceding  the  regular  sermon;  but 
whenever  or  wherever  used,  it  should  be  separated  from 
the  main  sermon  by  a  song,  in  order  to  relieve  the  other- 
wise too  stately  service,  and  prepare  the  people  to  receive 
with  a  keener  relish  and  a  closer  attention  the  weightier 
discourse  w^hich  is  to  follow. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  introduction  of  the  sermon- 
ette  should  lengthen  the  duration  of  the  regular  service. 
Let  the  preacher  cut  down  his  sermon  of  forty-five  min- 
utes to  thirty-five  or  forty,  thus  improving  the  working- 
quality  of  his  sermon,  and  finding  ample  time  for  speaking 
awhile  to  the  children ;  or,  what  may  be  better  still,  let  the 
Bermonette  be  a  substitute  for  the  more  formal  and  unes- 
sential part  of  the  service,  such  as  the  reading  of  hymns, 
and,  in  churches  where  instrumental  music  is  used,  the 
use  of  organ  voluntaries,  preludes,  and  interludes.  These 
fragments  of  time,  if  gathered  together,  would  afford  all 
the  time  required  for  the  addition  of  a  sermonette  to  the 
Bermon,  without  lengthening  the  usual  service.  The  ser- 
monette should  usually  be  upon  a  subject  different  from 
that  of  the  sermon,  and  should  be  prepared  with  great 
care. 

2.  The  Duplex  Method,  by  which  we  mean  the  combina- 
tion of  the  sermon  and  sermonette,  so  as  to  form  one  con- 
tinuous discourse.  It  consists  in  addressing  the  children 
at  intervals  during  each  regular  sermon  by  interpolating 
episodes,  illustrations,  etc.,  related  to  the  subject,  and 
especially  adapted  to  their  understanding,  as  helps  to  the 
child's  comprehension  of  the  sermon.  This  was  the  cus- 
tom of  some  of  the  biblical  evangelists.  Paul,  in  the 
midst  of  his  exhortations,  turns  to  the  little  ones  and  sAys, 
"Children,  obey  your  parents;"  and  Peter,  in  a  similar 
discourse,  says,  "  Ye  younger,  submit  yourselves  unto  the 
elder."     Augustine  often  paused  in  his  discourse  to  address 


Methods  of  Preaching  to   Children.  267 

the  children  with  these  words :  "  Young  people,  this  is  for 
you;"  and  Dr.  Deems,  of  New  York,  is  accustomed  to 
intersperse  remarks  and  illustrations  for  children  in  all  his 
pulpit  discourses. 

This  method  is  perhaps  better  than  the  first,  as  it  distrib- 
utes an  equal  portion  alike  to  "  young  men  and  maidens^ 
old  men  and  children,"  without  making  a  specialty  of  any 
class  of  hearers;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  this  is  the  most 
difiicult  of  all  the  modes  of  preaching,  for  very  few  can 
repeatedly  pass  from  the  style  of  adult  address  to  that  of 
a  juvenile  character,  without  a  marked  abruptness  or  break 
in  the  progress  of  discussion,  which  will  mar  the  climax  or 
destroy  the  rhetorical  unity  of  the  discourse.  In  order^ 
therefore,  to  make  this  method  a  success,  the  preacher 
must  not  halt  in  the  midst  of  an  eloquent  flight  to  address 
the  young,  but  must  wait  until  the  inspiration  is  over.  He 
should  not  always  soar  upon  the  wings  of  lofty  ideas,  but 
occasionally  alight  upon  some  humble  spot  to  rest  himself, 
to  address  the  child-mind,  and  prepare  for  another  flight. 
These  halts  should  occur  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  each 
division,  where  its  substance  can  be  transmuted  into  a 
juvenile  discourse,  and  the  same  matter  be  presented  in  a 
new  and  interesting  form  which  will  be  intelligible  to  alL 
In  passing  from  point  to  point  he  should  make  the  steps  of 
his  progress  clear  and  emphatic,  and  all  through  the  dis- 
course strive  to  make  the  truth  appear  in  such  interesting 
forms  that  it  may  be  attractive  and  impressive  even  to- 
children. 

3.  The  Service  of  Song.  Sometimes  an  extra  programme 
of  music  will  add  to  the  interest  of  a  children's  service. 
Four  or  five  sermonettes  upon  various  subjects,  delivered 
by  the  pastor  and  several  of  his  gifted  laymen,  or  ministe- 
rial brethren,  may  be  introduced  between  the  difierent 
pieces   of  music,   which  will  help  to    secure   variety  and 


268  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

freshness  throughout  the  entire  service;  or,  to  relieve  the 
children  from  weariness,  we  may  give  them  the  opportu- 
nity of  participating  in  the  singing,  praying,  and  responsive 
reading,  or  of  rising  sometimes  during  the  singing  of  a 
hymn,  or  the  reading  of  a  chapter.  Some  pastors  will, 
by  previous  arrangement,  occasionally  call  upon  an  older 
child  to  deliver  a  religious  address,  or  upon  a  younger  one 
to  give  a  suitable  recitation,  to  take  the  place  of  a  sermon- 
€tte.  Such  a  plan,  without  turning  the  service  into  a 
Sunday-school  concert,  will  often  help  to  increase  the 
children's  interest  in  the  meeting  by  giving  them  a  share 
in  the  services. 

4.  Tht  Children's  Church.  This  is  a  service  occasionally 
and  exclusively  held  for  the  children,  in  the  same  audience- 
room,  during  the  same  hour,  and  with  the  same  services  as 
the  regular  Sabbath-preaching  services  for  adults,  but  with 
sermon,  hymns,  and  prayers  especially  adapted  to  the  little 
ones.  This  method  has  been  successfully  practiced  by  Dr. 
Richard  J^ewton,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  Tyng,  sen.,  of 
New  York,  for  many  years,  and  in  many  respects  is  the 
best  that  can  be  used : 

(1.)  It  gives  more  time  for  thorough  preparation,  by 
taking  the  place  of  the  regular  sermon,  instead  of  consti- 
tuting an  extra  work  for  the  Sabbath.  In  the  other 
methods  already  mentioned,  the  children's  portion  in  the 
preaching-service  will  probably  be  slighted,  because  of  the 
necessity  of  devoting  most  of  the  time  for  preparation  to 
the  main  sermon;  or,  if  the  children's  portion  be  properly 
prepared,  the  adults'  may  be  deficient. 

The  proper  preparation  of  a  discourse  to  children  will 
always  make  a  greater  draught  upon  a  preacher's  time  than 
that  of  the  ordinary  sermon  to  adults.  Says  Dr.  Richard 
JSTewton,  "I  am  free  to  confess  that  I  have  never  written  a 
eermon  for  children  which  has  not  cost  me  four  or  five 


Methods  of  Preac/mig  to   ChildT-en.  269 

mornings  of  hard  work,  from  breakfast  to  dinner-time. 
But  to  do  this  for  an  exercise  that  was  additional  to  the 
two  stated  services  of  the  Sabbath,  would  be  impossible." 

The  mixing  of  the  two  discourses  will  tend  to  impair 
the  value  of  each. 

(2.)  A  subject  can  be  more  successfully  and  clearly 
explained  to  children  in  half  an  hour's  time  than  in  a  few 
minutes.  An  idea  intended  for  the  child  can  not  well  be 
simplified,  without  also  being  amplified,  and  illustrated^ 
and  repeated,  in  various  ways.  But  to  do  this  well,  requires 
more  time  than  is  usually  allotted  for  this  purpose  in  the 
other  methods  of  preaching  to  children. 

(3.)  It  more  properly  recognizes  the  children's  rights 
in  the  sanctuary.  They  are  members  of  Christ's  church 
by  virtue  of  the  atonement.  They  have  a  claim  upon  its 
ordinances.  They  especially  need  religious  instruction  and 
counsel.  They  are  capable  of  practicing  many  of  the 
Christian  duties,  and  of  understanding  most  of  the  doc- 
trines of  ChrivStianity,  when  properly  explained.  Why 
should  they  be  entitled  to  only  a  small  fragment  of  the 
services,  or  a  scanty  sprig  of  the  sermon?  Why  should 
they  not  be  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  an  entire  service 
as  often  as  men  and  women?  Ought  not  the  lambs  of 
the  flock  to  receive  as  much  attention  as  the  sheep?  If 
the  custom  of  devoting  one  of  the  two  sermons  of  each 
Sabbath-day  to  the  children  were  adopted  by  every  pastor, 
we  would  hear  less  complaint  against  the  monotony  and 
surfeit  of  preaching,  in  our  day,  caused  by  the  unnecessary 
double-sermon  system  on  each  Lord's  day,  as  now  prac- 
ticed. 

The  preacher,  then,  should  acquire  the  art  of  preaching 
a  regular  sermon  of  thirty  or  forty  minutes  to  the  children, 
at  least  once  a  month,  if  not  once  a  week.  This  does  not 
imply  that  the  children  should  never  be  referred  to  in  a 


270  The  PreacJier  a7id  His  Sctmoji, 

sermon  to  adults,  nor  that  adults  should  be  entirely  over- 
looked in  a  sermon  to  children,  but  that  at  children's 
church,  the  general  style  and  plan  of  preaching  be  espe- 
cially adapted  to  the  juvenile  mind. 

Since  the  sermon  will  occupy  considerable  time  in  de- 
livery, and  might  become  wearisome  to  the  young,  it  is  well 
to  divide  it  into  two  sections,  by  the  singing  of  a  hymn. 
This  will  aflbrd  a  little  recreation  to  the  children,  and,  if 
the  singing  be  suitable  to  the  subject,  will  also  help  to  im- 
press the  lesson  of  the  sermon  on  their  minds,  so  that  they 
will  think  or  sing  about  it  when  at  home. 

§  IV.       MATTER   FOR    THE    CHILDREN'S    SERMON. 

Agesilaus,  the  Spartan  king,  when  asked  what  boys  should 
learn,  admii'ably  answered,  "  That  which  they  must  use 
when  they  are  men."  This  sound  principle  of  instruction 
should  be  engraved  in  letters  of  gold,  to  be  used  as  a  motto 
in  the  preparation  of  every  children's  sermon.  It  is  a  false 
theory  which  teaches  that  the  proper  aim  should  be,  to  say 
anything  that  will  interest  the  lads  and  lasses  —  to  express 
any  idea  or  tell  any  story,  however  unreal,  trivial,  or 
heretical,  that  will  make  them  listen  with  credulous 
delight.  This  is  not  only  deceiving  the  innocent  minds, 
but  sowing  pernicious  seed  that  will  spring  up  into  thorns 
of  folly,  and  disappoint  their  hopes,  when  they  are  men 
and  women.  Child-instruction  is  too  responsible  a  work 
to  be  performed  either  indiflbrently  or  jestingly.  Teach 
the  children  the  true,  solid  principles  of  life — what  they 
should  be  now,  and  especially  what  they  must  be  "  when 
they  are  men^^ — truths  that  will  stand  the  wear  and  tear  of 
time,  as  they  grow  up;  teach  them  thoughts  that  are  pure, 
that  will  quicken  in  their  minds  high,  noble,  and  generous 
conceptions, —  thoughts  that  are  wise  and  true,  and  that 
will  give  to  them  right  views  of  the  world,  and  healthy 


Matter  for  the  Children  s  Sermon.  2  7 1 

views  of  life  and  duty;  that  will  inspire  them  with  cour- 
age to  act  manfully,  and  worthily,  and  heroically  in  the 
presence  of  diificulties  and  trials.  Every  sermon  to  them 
ought  to  be  a  fount  of  inspiration  to  do  right,  to  think 
wisely,  to  speak  truthfully,  to  live  well,  and  at  length  to 
■die  happily.  The  supreme  purpose,  then,  is  not  to  say  the 
most  interesting  thing,  but  to  say  the  most  edifying  thing  in 
the  most  interesting  way. 

"What  lessons  of  instruction  should  we  teach  the 
<jhildren  ? 

1.  Lessons  of  morality ;  such  as  goodness,  kindness,  un- 
eelfishness,  truthfulness,  honesty,  obedience,  patience,  etc. 
Care  should  be  exercised  not  to  set  up  too  high  a  standard 
of  morality,  such  as  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to 
attain. 

2.  Lessons  of  Bible  facts.  Children  should  be  made 
acquainted  with  such  Bible-history  as  they  can  understand. 
*'■  Great  portions  of  the  Book  we  are  set  to  expound  come 
to  us  in  the  form  of  stories.  An  endless  supply  is  there, 
and  boundless  variety,  and  touched  with  both  imaginative 
and  ethical  force.  In  Genesis  and  Exodus  alone  are  stories 
which  will  last  for  a  whole  year.  "We  have  only  to  name 
the  heroes  of  Bible-history  to  recall  the  rich  materials 
prepared  for  our  use — Abel,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  Jo- 
seph, Moses,  Jonah,  Samson,  Samuel,  David.  We  have 
•only  to  think  of  the  events  of  which  the  Bible  is  the  rec- 
ord to  see  the  same  thing — the  expulsion  from  Eden,  the 
deluge,  the  ten  plagues,  the  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea,  the 
life  in  the  wilderness.  What  child  will  not  feel  the 
awful  side  of  the  divine  majesty  in  the  story  of  Belshaz- 
zar's  feast?  or  the  weird  doom  of  filial  disloyalty  in  the 
death  of  Absalom?  or  the  pathos  of  human  life  in  the 
anguish  which  rings  in  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-seventh 
Psalm? — '  How  shall  we  sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a  strange 


272  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

land?' — or  the  protective  care  of  God  in  the  preservation 
of  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den?  or  the  wonder  and  miracle  of 
his  presence  in  that  story  of  the  form  of  the  Son  of  man^ 
who  was  seen  walking  with  the  three  children  in  the  fire? 
And  see  how  the  life  of  our  Lord  has  been  told.  That 
life  unfolds  in  a  way  that  might  justify  the  supposition 
that  it  was  meant  to  be  told  to  children.  It  arrests  the 
imagination  and  engages  the  heart  of  a  child — the  man- 
ger in  the  stable,  the  star,  the  wise  men,  the  visit  to  the 
temple,  the  preaching  at  Nazareth,  the  baptism  of  John, 
the  temptation.  We  have  elements  in  these  events  of  an 
interest  which  never  loses  its  fascination  for  children. 
And,  as  if  these  were  not  enough,  we  have  line  upon 
line  of  other  and  as  interesting  materials  in  that  life. 
There  is  the  rich  fullness  of  incident  and  circumstance  in 
the  history  of  the  public  ministry;  the  parables  are  just 
stories  of  the  kind  and  for  the  kind  of  minds  I  am  bring- 
ing before  you;  the  miracles  are  stories;  and  last  of  all, 
*  *  *  *  there  is  the  endlessly  interesting  story  of  the  suf- 
ferings at  the  end."  ^ 

Then  the  Bible  furnishes  a  large  variety  of  illustrative 
history,  in  the  form  of  metaphors,  emblems,  etc.,  adapted 
for  teaching  many  useful  lessons.  Thus  Dr.  Tyng,  sen., 
preached  a  series  of  sermons  to  children  on  "  The  Trees  of 
the  Bible,"  and  "The  Mountains  of  the  Scriptures;"  and 
Rev.  W.  F.  Crafts,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  in  1881, 
preached  a  series  of  five  minutes'  sermonettes  to  children 
on  the  "  Birds  and  Foxes  of  the  Bible."  Such  sermons 
are  not  so  much  for  the  sake  of  teaching  scriptural  facts, 
as  for  the  sake  of  the  lessons  they  may  serve  to  impart. 

3.  Lessons  o^  Bible  doctrine.  All  the  various  established 
subjects  of  dogmatic  theology  which  relate  to  human  sal- 

I  Dr.  Alex.  Macleod,  in  hia  paper  on  The  Children's  Rn-tion  in  the  Sabbath  Service,  read 
at  the  Pan-Preabyterian  Council  in  Philadelphia,  18S0 


Matter  for  the   Children  s  Sermon.  273 

vation,  can  be  explaiuecl  in  clear  and  tangible  forms,  so  as 
to  be  easily  understood  by  the  child.  However,  the  con- 
troversial subjects  relating  to  apologetics  and  polemics  are 
to  be  avoided  in  a  children's  service;  and  those  of  meta- 
physical or  speculative  theology  should  never  be  so  much 
as  mentioned  in  their  presence.  iTothing  but  the  essential 
and  unquestioned  staple  of  gospel  doctrine — such  as  re- 
pentance, faith,  regeneration,  adoption,  holiness,  heaven, 
and  such  kindred  doctrines  as  are  fundamental  to  Chris- 
tianity— should  furnish  themes  for  a  children's  sermon.  A 
doubtful  proposition  tends  to  make  the  young  skeptical; 
while  a  positive  assertion  is  half  a  victory  in  the  battle  for 
truth.  Then  there  are  many  miscellaneous  Bible-teachings 
and  precepts,  not  properly  classified  under  dogmatic  the- 
ology, such  as  prayer,  humility,  temperance,  love  to  God, 
and  the  like,  which  furnish  useful  material  for  preaching 
to  children.  Sometimes  the  Sunday-school  lesson  can  be 
turned  to  good  account. 

4.  Lessons  of  Christian  duty  and  'practice.  While  the 
child  must  be  made  acquainted  with  Bible  facts  and  doc- 
trines as  the  foundation  of  forming  character,  he  must  also 
be  urged  to  practice  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  not  only 
in  respect  to  morality,  but  also  as  regards  Christianity.  It 
is  one  thing  to  know  the  right,  another  to  do  it.  Let  this 
distinction  not  be  forgotten  by  the  preacher.  Ministers 
sometimes  address  children  as  if  they  were  pious,  and 
needed  only  instruction,  whareas  they  must  be  exhorted  to 
become  pious  by  regeneration  and  obedience.  Christian 
duties  must  be  clearly  set  forth  and  pressed  upon  their 
attention  as  of  utmost  importance  to  their  happiness  and 
salvation,  and  the  impression  made  that  the  worth  of  their 
character  consists  not  in  understanding  the  right,  but  in 
doing  it. 

These  lessons  of  practical  duty  open  a  wide  range  of 


2  74  ^^^^  Preacher   and  His  Sermon. 

topics,  derived  from  a  multitude  of  sources.  First,  from 
the  Bible,  ^Yllere  are  found  numerous  examples  of  pious 
devotion.  Second,  from  various  good  books,  where  are 
recorded  incidents  of  heroic  Christian  deeds  that  stir  our 
souls.  Tell  them  something  about  the  heroes  of  the  Refor- 
mation, the  pilgrim  fathers,  or  the  Scottish  covenanters. 
Let  them  know  something  of  Bunyau's  glorious  dream  in 
Bedford  jail,  or  of  the  biographies  of  holy  men  and  women. 
Third,  from  the  world  of  incidents  and  experience.  The 
minister  only  needs  to  be  awake  to  matters  of  daily  occur- 
rence, such  as  he  reads  in  papers,  or  sees  in  nature,  or 
observes  in  Christian  lives,  to  have  at  hand  a  supply  of 
material  to  interest  the  children  and  incite  them  to  Chris- 
tian activity. 

But  as  regards  material,  in  sermons  to  children  as  in 
sermons  to  adults,  nothing  is  so  important  and  interesting 
as  the  plain  gospel  of  Christ.  An  elder  of  Glasgow,  in 
addressing  an  assembly  of  Sunday-school  teachers,  said,  "It 
may  be  useful,  and  very  entertaining,  to  tell  your  classes 
of  the  height  and  girth  of  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  and  the 
dimensions  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon,  and  such  things; 
but  in  my  experience  there  is  nothing  which  will  interest  a 
child  so  much,  or  bear  repetition  so  many  times,  or  do  so 
much  good,  as  the  story  of  the  cross  of  Christ."  This  story 
may  be  told  in  an  endless  variety  of  ways,  that  will  always 
make  the  "  old  story  "  seem  new. 

§    v.      MANNER   OF    PREACHING   TO   CHILDlRBN. 

"We  have  intimated  what  we  should  preach  to  children; 
we  will  now  suggest  how  we  should  preach  to  them.  Chas. 
H.  Spurgeon  says,  that  he  has  thought,  when  hearing  cer- 
tain preachers  of  a  high  order  speaking  to  the  young,  that 
they  must  have  understood  the  Lord  to  say,  "Feed  my 
cameiopards,"  instead  of  "Feed  my  lambs;"  for  nothing 


Manner  of  Preachmg  to   Children.  275 

but  giraffes  could  reach  any  spiritual  food  from  the  lofty 
rack  in  which  it  is  placed.  This  quaint  reproof  is  use- 
ful in  denouncing  a  lofty  style  that  is  far  above  the  level 
of  those  whom  we  address.  We  must  come  down  to  the 
intellectual  process  of  children  in  order  to  make  ourselves 
understood;  and,  as  Broadus  says,  if  we  would  learn  the 
range  of  their  ideas,  we  must  talk  much  with  them,  and 
allure  them  into  talking  freely  to  us. 

1.  In  order  to  become  interesting  and  plain  in  address- 
ing children,  we  must  adapt  ourselves  to  their  childish 
instincts. 

They  like  the  jingle  of  rhyme,  and  we  may  utilize  this 
instinct  by  teaching  to  them  truth  in  hymns  and  verses. 
Curiosity  is  another  of  their  peculiarities  which  can  be 
ased  in  teaching  by  comparisons.  When  the  child  spoke 
of  the  peacock  as  a  turkey  "  bloomed  out,"  it  spoke  of  the 
truth  Hguratively. 

In  addressing  them  we  should  alternately  employ  pathos 
and  humor.  "The  childish  mind  readily  passes  'from  grave 
to  gay,'  and  almost  as  readily  back  again  to  what  is  grave. 
Few  men  can  succeed  well  in  speeches  or  sermons  to 
children,  unless  they  are  able  to  employ  at  least  a  few 
touches  of  humor;"  ^  but  such  pleasantry  must  not  descend 
to  buffoonery,  nor  be  offered  for  the  sake  of  amusement, 
but  as  subservient  to  a  higher  purpose. 

We  should  also  address  the  imagination,  which  in  child- 
hood is  most  prominent  and  active.  To  the  child  every- 
thing is  associated,  by  resemblance,  with  something  else. 
"The  stars  are  lamps;  the  rainbow,  ladders;  the  clouds, 
islands  in  a  sea  of  blue."  Thought,  feeling,  emotion, 
everything,  is  touched  with  imaginative  receptiveness. 
It  lends  a  charm  to  antiquated  facts,  and  pictures  forth 
spiritual  truth  in  tangible  form.     By  its  aid  we  show  them 

s  Broados'  Prepaxatkm  and  Deliver}^  tjf  Sermons,  p.  116. 


276  The  Pi'eacher  and  His  Sermon, 

God's  image  iu  the  works  of  creation — looking  througb 
nature  up  to  nature's  God;  we  make  them  hear  his  voice 
in  the  melody  of  the  grove,  in  the  roaring  thunder,  in  the 
wild  winds;  we  direct  them  to  see  his  fatherly  hand  in  the 
vernal  bloom,  in  the  painted  flower,  and  in  the  shining 
star.  In  short,  we  reach  the  child's  heart  through  the  gates 
of  imagination. 

2.  Another  method  of  making  truth  intelligible  to 
children  is  the  use  of  illustrations. 

These  may  consist  of  anecdotes,  illustrative  of  an  idea  we 
wish  to  present.  Children  are  always  craving  stories,  and 
will  remember  them  longest  when  related  in  the  most  nat- 
ural and  familiar  way. 

They  may  consist  of  jpidures,  which  are  attractive  even 
to  grown  people.  Many  points  can  be  better  illustrated  on 
the  blackboard,  with  a  few  bold  outlines  and  sketches,  than 
by  any  other  process.^  Sometimes,  when  the  whole  sermon 
is  based  on  a  pictorial  representation,  an  artistic  engraving, 
procured  or  prepared  beforehand,  will  be  either  a  supple- 
ment to  or  substitute  for  the  blackboard.^ 

Again,  they  may  consist  of  relics  or  object-lessons.  The 
Jewish  charvb,  the  Egyptian  lentil,  or  the  Syrian  sweetmeat 
is  not  difficult  to  find.  A  fac-simile  of  heathen  idols  gives 
the  best  idea  of  heathen  worship;  so  an  imitation  of  the 
coin  which  rattled  in  Judas'  fingers,  makes  the  scene  of  the 
betrayal  very  real.  There  are  little  models  of  the  taber- 
nacle furniture,  of  the  Holy  Land,  phylacteries,  and  a  score 
of  other  articles,  that  can  not  fail  to  interest  and  instruct 
the  young.  But  there  are  many  objects  accessible  to  every 
preacher,  such  as  a  flower,  an  egg,  a  pebble,  a  magnet,  or 

I  Tlie  preacher  should  give  some  attention  to  blackboard  drawing  and  be  able  to 
produce  in  a  few  moments  a  figure  that  can  be  easily  seen  and  recognized  by  every- 
body in  the  audience.  It  should  be  drawn  in  the  presence  of  the  children;  for  they  have 
a  creative  instinct,  and  like  to  see  a  thing  in  process  ol  formation.  Study  Plain  Uses  of  Utt 
Blackboard,  by  W.  F.  Crafts ;  and  The  Blackboard  in  the  Sunday-icJiool,  by  Frank  Beard. 

a  Cf.  chapter  on  Ulustruted  Sermons. 


Mariner  of  Preaching  to   Children.  277 

anything  that  will  serve  to  explain  ideas;  and  with  the 
aid  of  these  the  children's  thoughts  may  be  directed  from 
the  seen  to  the  unseen,  from  the  objects  themselves  to  the 
facts  which  they  suggest. 

3.  Another  method  of  gaining  the  children's  attention 
is  the  catechetical  mode  of  address,  which  consists  in  asking 
questions  and  seeking  answers.^  So  long  as  children  feel 
strange  or  timid,  we  seldom  succeed  in  making  much  im- 
pression. Hence,  this  conversational  style  of  speaking  to 
them  tends  to  make  them  feel  at  home  in  the  presence  of 
the  preacher,  who  should  endeavor  to  render  himself  ap- 
proachable and  fatherly,  and  to  give  the  children's  service, 
as  much  as  possible,  the  appearance  of  a  family  circle.  To 
do  this  he  should  require  the  children  to  occupy  reserved 
eeats  in  the  main  body  of  the  church,  and  the  adult  por- 
tion of  the  congregation  to  sit  back  and  around.  The 
closer  the  preacher  can  get  to  the  children  the  better,  even 
if  he  must  get  down  from  the  pulpit  and  stand  within 
arm's  reach  of  them.  Let  the  preacher  then  talk  to  them 
occasionally  in  the  Socratic  method,  by  the  use  of  cross- 
questions  and  responses,  forgetting,  if  he  can,  that  any 
except  children  are  present. 

This  catechetical  sort  of  address  is,  perhaps,  the  best 
way  of  instructing  children.  It  is,  at  least,  the  most  nat- 
ural method — the  method  to  which  they  are  accustomed  at 
home,  in  school,  and  during  play. 

Since  the  children's  answers  will  often  be  not  only  amus- 
ing, but  various  and  diverting,  the  minister  should  be  on 
his  guard,  lest  he  be  led  astray  from  his  subject  to  some- 
thing foreign  or  merely  jocose.     The  series  of  questions 

I  This  mode  somewhat  resembles  the  anciout  use  of  the  homily.  The  word  homily 
was  formerly  employed  to  express  the  familiar  address  of  a  teacher  whose  instructions 
were  interrupted  by  questions  and  answers.  Clementine  Homilies  were  so  called  be- 
cause they  pretended  to  give  the  talks  and  discourses  of  Peter  with  Simon  Magus.  It 
was  only  afterward  that  homily  acquired  its  technical  sense,  meaning  a  sermon  written 
by  a  bishop,  to  be  preached  by  the  inferior  clergy. 


278  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

must  be  planned  beforehand,  and  be  directed  to  some  par- 
ticular object;  and  then  the  catechising  must  be  conducted 
with  a  skill  that  will  avert  digression,  and  keep  the  main 
question  before  the  children.  For  example,  if  we  wish  to 
explain  by  the  interrogative  method  why  we  should  be- 
lieve God's  promises,  we  might  put  the  question  directly, 
"  Why  do  we  believe  what  God  says,  and  not  what  Satan 
says? "  If  no  answer  given  be  correct,  we  must  not  follow 
any  centrifugal  tendency  of  their  answers,  but  draw  out 
the  correct  answer  by  a  course  of  preparatory  questions; 
such  as,  "  K  I  would  tell  you  that  if  you  come  to  my 
house  to-morrow  I  will  present  you  with  a  golden  dollar, 
would  you  come? "  "  Do  you  think  you  would  get  the 
dollar  if  you  would  come?  "  "  Why  ? "  "  Now,  if  a  wicked 
man,  who  makes  it  his  business  to  lie,  and  deceive  the 
people,  would  promise  to  give  you  a  gold  dollar  if  you 
come  to  his  house,  would  you  go?"  "Do  you  think  you 
would  get  the  dollar  if  you  should  go?"  "Why  not?" 
"  Why,  then,  would  you  believe  mo,  and  not  that  other 
man  ? "  "  Why,  then,  do  you  believe  what  God  says,  and 
not  what  Satan  says?"  By  this  time  the  children,  no 
doubt,  will  have  a  correct  answer. 

4.  Last  in  order,  but  first  in  importance,  is  the  use  of 
plain  and  simple  language  in  speaking  to  children.  This 
does  not  imply  that  the  words  used  should  be  all  mono- 
syllables, for  children  can  understand  polysyllables  as  well, 
when  they  represent  concrete  or  familiar  ideas,  but  that 
they  consist  of  common  household  words,  such  as  consti- 
tute the  family  vocabulary  in  homes  where  the  ordinary 
conversation  between  parents  and  children  is  pure  and 
faultless.  It  is  possible  for  a  preacher  to  be  child-like  in 
his  speech,  and  yet  not  childish,  and  to  be  simple  without 
being  puerile,  though  the  thought  expressed  may  be  sub- 
lime, or  even  ponderous.     Nothing   is  so  improper  in  a 


Benefits  of  Preaching  to   Children.  279 

children's  sermon  as  a  scholarly,  book,  or  essay  style  of 
expression.^ 

§  VI.   BENEFITS  RESULTINa  FROM  PREACHING  TO  CHILDREN. 

1.  To  the  Preacher. — This  benefit  manifests  itself  in  a 
more  extended  knowledge  of  human  nature,  as  well  as  an 
extra  discipline  in  the  arts  of  invention  and  disposition. 
Elocutionists  recommend  the  study  of  the  child-nature  as 
a  model  of  naturalness  in  manner  and  gesture.  Besides, 
preaching  to  children  requires  superior  ability,  extensive 
knowledge,  vigorous  imagination,  and  skill  in  the  use  of 
illustration.  The  eflPbrt  required  in  so  selecting,  arranging, 
and  simplifying  the  truth  as  to  make  it  plain  to  children, 
will  be  a  beneficial  exercise  to  the  sermonizer.  "  ISTothing 
is  easier  than  to  talk  to  children;  but  to  talk  to  them  as 
they  ought  to  be  talked  to,  is  the  very  last  effort  of  ability. 
*  *  *  Ko  sermon  ever  put  my  mind  half  so  much  on  the 
stretch.  I  am  surprised  at  nothing  which  Dr.  Watts  did 
but  his  hymns  for  children.  Others  could  have  written  as 
well  as  he,  in  his  other  works;  but  how  he  wrote  those 
hymns,  I  know  not."  ^  Perspicuity  is  the  chief  quality  in 
pulpit  style.  Two  of  the  most  successful  preachers  of  the 
age,  namely,  Spurgeon  and  Moody,  began  their  Christian 
work  by  preaching  to  children,  which  no  doubt  gave  them 
that  simplicity  of  utterance  and  clearness  of  expression 
for  which  they  are  distinguished. 

2.  To  the  Adult  Hearers. —  Some  preachers  entertain  a 
fear  that  the  style  which  is  best  adapted  for  a  children's 
sermon  will  be  repulsive  to  adults,  and  tend  to  gradually 

I  A  doctor  of  divinity,  in  speakino;  to  a  Sunday-school,  used  the  word  "  summary." 
The  clergyman  of  the  parish,  who  was  sitting  behind  him,  pulled  him  by  the  coat-tail 
and  whispered,  "  Doctor,  they  don't  know  what  summary  means."  "Ahl  yes,"  said  the 
doctor.  "  Children,  my  friend  here  tells  me  you  don't  understand  what  summary 
means.  Allow  me  then  to  say  that  summary  is  synonymous  with  synopsis;  in  short,  a 
succinct  digest." 

a  Cecil.    See  Newton's  testimony. 


28o  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermo7i. 

drive  them  from  the  public  service.  In  reply,  Richard 
IsTewton  says,  "  If  proper  care  and  pains  be  given  to  it 
[the  children's  sermon],  it  is  possible  to  prepare  sermons 
which  shall  be  sufficiently  plain. and  illustrative  of  the 
great  truths  handled  in  the  pulpit,  to  engage  the  attention 
of  young  people  of  ordinary  intelligence,  such  as  are  found 
in  our  Sunday-schools,  and  yet  sensible  enough  not  to 
offend  by  their  puerilities  the  taste  and  judgment  of  the 
adult  portion  of  the  congregation."  Instead  of  repelling 
adults,  such  preaching  will  most  likely  attract  them;  for 
one  way  of  winning  fathers  and  mothers  is  by  winning 
their  children.  "  Touch  the  hearts  of  the  children  in  3'our 
flocks,  and  you  have  thereby  touched  the  hearts  of  the 
parents;"^  and  by  interesting  and  benefiting  them,  you 
touch  tender  chords  in  the  parental  heart  which  nothing 
else  can  touch.  Many  parents  have  been  drawn  to  church, 
and  finally  to  heaven,  because  some  darling  little  one  of  the 
family  has  first  led  the  way. 

Besides,  some  adults  never  get  clear  ideas  of  certain  doc- 
trines and  duties  until  they  hear  them  explained  to  children 
in  form  and  language  so  plain  and  simple  that  no  one  can 
fail  to  understand  them.  Truth  so  presented  as  to  be 
comprehended  by  the  child,  will  be  comprehended  by 
everybody  else  in  the  audience;  and  while  there  is  just 
cause  for  fear  that  our  preaching  may  be  too  intellectual 
for  the  young  and  the  unlearned,  there  is  never  any  danger 
lest  it  be  too  plain  and  interesting  for  the  elderly  and  the 
scholarly.  The  difficult  task  of  making  the  difficult  seem 
easy,  and  the  easy,  easier  still,  is  the  crowning  efibrt  in  the 
art  of  preaching;  and  success  in  this  will  be  a  benefit  to 
the  hearer  as  well  as  to  the  preacher. 

3.  Especially  to  the  Children.  —  They  are  the  greatest 
beneficiaries,  receiving  the  largest  profit.    Is  it  no  benefit  for 

t  Macleod. 


Benefits  of  Preaching  to   Children,  281 

one  in  his  early  years  to  be  drawn  into  the  church,  to  be  in- 
structed in  the  Scriptures,  and  in  righteousness  "  made  wise 
unto  salvation,"  to  be  rooted  in  the  faith,  and  to  be  trained 
for  usefulness  in  the  great  mission  of  life?  We  can  not  fore- 
see the  immense  results  in  after-life  that  may  accrue  from 
seed  sown  in  the  youthful  soil.  Who  can  tell  but  that, 
among  those  little  ones  whom  we  instruct  each  Sabbath  in 
the  sanctuary,  there  may  be  one  who  will,  in  after-years,  rise 
up  to  bless  the  race  with  his  benedictions,  and  fill  the  earth 
with  his  praise.  John  Trebonius,  a  German  professor, 
always  appeared  before  his  class  of  boys  with  uncovered 
head;  and  when  asked  for  an  explanation  of  this  reverence 
he  replied,  "  Who  can  tell  what  may  yet  rise  up  amid  these 
youths?"  And  among  the  pupils  of  the  class  was  Martin 
Luther,  that  "  solitary  monk  that  shook  the  world." 
^'  Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth,"  was  Paul's  way  of 
expressing  to  Timothy  the  possibilities  of  life  when  under 
proper  discipline. 

Spare  no  efibrt,  then,  in  indoctrinating  the  children  in 
the  principles  of  our  holy  Christianity,  and  the  responsi- 
bilities of  life.  Let  the  life  of  the  pulpit  flow  like  a  river 
through  the  lives  of  the  children,  and  the  boys  and  girls 
who  are  to  be  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  years  to 
come,  will  rise  up  to  call  you  "  blessed."  ^ 

I  Among  the  published  sermons  to  children,  the  following  deserve  notice:  The  Child's 
Preacher,  published  by  the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  is  a  compilation  of  children's  ser- 
mons from  different  representative  preachers.  Trumbull's  Children  in  the  Temple  trea.t3 
of  the  subject  of  children's  worship,  including  sermons  to  children,  with  illustrative 
specimens  of  the  work  of  representative  preachers  to  children.  JJr.  John  Todd's  Lect- 
ures to  Children  are  models  in  regard  to  plan  and  style  of  sermons  for  children.  The 
eeries  of  children's  sermons  by  Dr.  Richard  Newton,  of  Philadelphia,  and  those  by  Dr. 
Alexander  Fletcher,  of  London,  are  admirable.  W.  F.  Crafts'  Talks  to  Boys  and  Girls 
<ib(Mt  Jesus,  is  a  series  of  brief  sermons  to  children  by  about  thirty  of  the  most  distin- 
guished preachers  to  children  in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  Bible  Images,  by 
Rev.  James  Wells,  a  Scottish  clergyman,  consists  of  twenty  sermons  to  the  little  folks. 
Hosan7ias  of  the  Children,  by  Dr.  J.  R.  Macduff,  are  fifty-two  sermons,  very  pleasing  ia 
etyle,  eminently  simple  and  practical. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

EXPOSITORY  SERMONS. 

General  Remarks  —  The  Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  Expositoi-y 
Preaching  —  General  Management  of  Homiletic  Exposition — Continu- 
ous Series  of  Exposition  —  Portions  of  Scripture  Especially  Adapted 
to  this  Mode  of  Preaching — Some  Valuable  Aids  to  Expository 
Preaching. 

§   I.      GENERAL    REMARKS. 

Expository  preaching  is  mostly  concerned  with  the 
exposition  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures;  but  its  divisions  may 
resemble  those  of  either  the  topical  or  the  textual  speciea 
of  sermon,  both  as  to  source  and  arrangement.  The  only 
difference  between  an  expository  sermon  and  any  other 
kind  is,  that  in  others  the  divisions  are  treated  rhetorically 
and  dogmatically,  while  in  this  the  divisions  and  contents 
are  treated  expositorily  and  exegetically. 

The  text  may  consist  of  a  brief  passage,  though  gen- 
erally larger  portions  of  scripture,  ranging  from  a  para- 
graph to  a  chapter,  or  even  a  whole  book,  are  selected  for 
this  purpose. 

The  expository  method  of  preaching  is  as  old  as  the 

days  of  Ezra,  who  gave  "the   sense"  of  what    he   read. 

It  was  practiced  by  Paul  when,  in  the  synagogue  of  the 

Jews,  he  reasoned  with  his  hearers  "out of  the  Scriptures;" 

it  was  honored,  in  his  Homilies,  by  Chrysostom,  who  was 

the  most  skilled  expositor  of  his  day,  if  not  of  any  day;  it 

was  adopted  by  the  good  Archbishop  Leighton,  in  those 

admirable  discourses  on  First  Peter  which  are  so  full  of 

282 


General  Remarks.  283 

unction  as  to  delight  and  benefit  the  saint,  and  so  rich  in 
thought  as  to  have  furnished  Coleridge  with  many  of  the 
aphorisms  in  his  "  Aids  to  Refiection." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that,  only  a  few  years  ago,  this 
method  of  preaching  had  greatly  fallen  into  disuse;  and 
but  for  the  recent  revival  of  more  biblical  preaching 
through  the  influence  and  example  of  D.  L.  Moody,  this 
decline  would  be  rather  an  unfavorable  omen.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  and  historical  fact  that  this  mode  of  preaching 
always  prevailed  in  the  brightest  days  of  the  church,  and 
declined  with  the  decline  of  Christianity.  In  the  days 
of  Christ,  in  the  progressive  period  of  evangelization, 
during  the  time  of  the  apostles  and  the  church  -  fathers, 
this  was  almost  the  only  mode  of  preaching.  Chrysostom 
and  Augustine,  the  two  greatest  preachers  of  the  Greek 
and  Latin  churches  in  the  fourth  century,  were  powerful 
expository  preachers.  It  was  during  the  medieval  period, 
a  period  characterized  by  secular  Christianity  and  rigid 
scholastic  formalities,  that  this  biblical  exposition  was 
entirely  abandoned.  "When  the  light  of  divine  truth  again 
began  to  emerge  from  its  long  eclipse  by  sacerdotal 
supremacy,  at  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation,  there  was 
again  a  return  to  the  expository  mode  of  preaching.  But 
Germany,  which  had  received  such  an  impetus  to  the 
exegetical  study  of  the  Bible  from  the  labors  of  Luther 
and  Melanchthon,  soon  became  corrupt  under  the  wither- 
ing blight  of  the  rationalism  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  expository  mode  was  again  exchanged  for  the  most 
formal  and  secular  preaching.  However,  since  the  revival 
of  the  evangelical  spirit  among  many  of  the  theologians 
and  preachers  ^  of  Germany,  and,  in  our  country,  since  the 
adoption    of    uniform    Sunday-school    lessons,    and    the 

1  Reinhard,  the  court-preacher  at  Dresden,  who  died  in  1812,  has  filled  thirt_v-five 
volumes  with  expository  sermons  on  minor  topics.  Of.  Hagonbach's  History  of  the  Church 
in  the  Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth  Centuries,  translated  by  Hurst,  Vol.  II.,  p.  1U2,  etc. 


284  The  Preacher  and  His  Scnno7i. 

revival  movements  of  Moody,  expository  preacliing  has 
again  revived  and  many  have  become  more  interested  in 
biblical  study.  Let  the  minister,  then,  who  wishes  to 
contribute  to  the  spiritual  and  evangelical  progress  of  his 
age,  spend  mucli  time  in  clearly  and  carefully  expounding 
the  Holy  Scriptures  to  his  people;  even  though  at  first 
they  may  be  averse  or  unaccustomed  to  the  new  mode. 
They  will  soon  learn  to  appreciate  its  value. 

§    n.       TIIE    ADVANTAGES   AND    DISADVANTAGES     OF    EXPOSITORY 
PREACHING    COMPARED. 

The  advantages  are: 

1.  It  gives  a  more  accurate  and  enlarged  view  of  divine 
truth.  By  taking  a  fuller  view  of  God's  Word,  the  preacher 
not  only  becomes  more  familiar  with  the  Bible,  but  is  kept 
from  that  narrowness  that  often  results  from  too  much 
topical  preaching. 

2.  It  "  gives  a  clearer  exhibition  of  the  great  principles 
of  religion  in  their  mutual  connection  and  diversified 
bearings  than  could  otherwise  be  done." 

3.  It  secures  a  variety  of  subjects  that  are  fresh  and 
charming.  The  topical  preacher  soon  wears  himself  out, 
because  of  his  constantly  drawing  upon  himself;  but  "  the 
expositor  has  the  Word  of  God  before  him,  and  his  life- 
time will  not  exhaust  that."  ^ 

4.  It  affords  an  opportunity  of  bringing  a  vast  number 
of  topics  before  one's  hearers  which  it  would  be  exceed- 
ingly difiicult  to  dwell  upon  in  a  regular  sermon,  on 
account  of  their  delicacy,  or  application  to  certain  indi- 
viduals in  the  congregation.  The  most  unwelcome  truths 
and  cutting  rebukes,  when  following  in  the  line  of  biblical 
expounding,  fall  with  much  more  grace  upon  the  hearers 
than  if  made  the  special  theme  of  a  sermon.^ 

X  W.  M.  Taylor. 

2  It  ia  better  not  to  be  too  personal  in  our  public  addresses,  bat  to  "  preach  the  word," 


Advantages  and  Disadvantages.  285 

5.  It  is  also  of  special  benefit  to  the  hearers,  for  it  not 
only  gives  them  a  better  knowledge  of  the  divine  "Word^ 
but  creates  in  them  a  desire  to  study  the  Scriptures  for 
themselves,  as   they  hear   their  preacher  expound   them. 

6.  The  principal  advantage  that  recommends  this  mode 
of  preaching  is,  that  it  reveals  more  of  the  thoughts  of  the 
Lord  and  less  of  the  thoughts  of  the  preacher.  "We  fill 
our  mission  best  when  we  "  preach  not  ourselves,  but 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord."  Keeping  ourselves  in  the  back- 
ground, we  bring  Him  to  the  front,  so  that  when  men  go- 
away  from  the  sanctuary  they  may  not  admire  so  much 
our  eloquence,  logic,  and  learning,  as  the  simple,  unadul- 
terated word  of  the  Lord.  The  seraphic  Summerfield  once 
remarked  that  men  so  followed  him  with  praise  that  he 
had  to  accustom  himself  to  plain  elucidations  of  scripture 
as  a  hiding-place  for  himself,  in  order  to  direct  the  mind 
of  the  people  to  God.  Surely,  this  is  a  good  plan  for  every 
jpojpular  preacher  to  adopt. 

The  disadvantages  are  few  and  trifling: 

1.  The  cramping  of  the  free  course  of  the  preacher's 
thoughts.  Some  complain  that  in  following  consecutive 
passages  it  is  difficult  to  fall  into  sympathy  with  a  certain 
class  of  subjects  that  arise. 

2.  The  lamentable  lack,  on  the  part  of  many  congrega- 
tions, of  a  proper  taste  and  regard  for  and  knowledge  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  compelled  even  Robert  Hall  to 
abandon  his  habit  of  expository  preaching  at   Leicester. 

3.  The  difficulty  of  reducing  large  passages,  such  as 
chapters  and  books,  to  a  unit,  and  presenting  them  in  a 
group  of  kindred  topics. 

But  in  answer  to  such  objections  to  this  method,  it  is 
enough  to  say  that  all  the  disadvantages  which  might  be 

and  pray  the  Spirit  to  make  the  direct  application.    If  people  will  then  find  fault  with 
otir  preaching,  it  must  be  with  the  Bible  and  not  with  the  preacher 


286  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermoii. 

mentioned  are  overbalanced  by  the  numerous  advantages 
in  its  favor.  If  this  mode  of  preaching'  is  less  suited  to 
eloquence,  it  is  evidently  better  adapted  for  the  diffusion 
of  true  scriptural  knowledge  and  instruction,  which  forms 
by  no  means  a  small  part  of  the  preacher's  office. 

If  a  minister  should  say  that  he  has  no  talent  for  expos- 
itory preaching,  and  therefore  is  not  required  to  practice 
it,  we  would  remind  him  that  he  lacks  one  of  the  first 
qualifications  for  the  ministry,  and  should  not  rest  satisfied 
until  he  acquires  the  necessary  skill.  Every  preacher  who 
tries  to  understand  the  proper  sense  and  meaning  of  script- 
ure, can  also  learn  to  expound  it  to  the  people  in  the 
public  congregation;  and  for  him  to  be  compelled  to  con- 
fess his  ignorance  of  general  Bible  knowledge  and  exegesis, 
is  a  shame,  if  not  a  sin.  There  can  be  no  better  way  of 
learning  to  understand  the  Scriptures  exegetically  and 
practically  than  by  devoting  a  series  of  expository  efforts 
to  certain  portions  thereof,  making  them  special  subjects 
of  study  and  investigation,  so  that  while  preparing  ser- 
mons one  may  at  the  same  time  become  an  expert  in  script- 
ure interpretation,  accumulate  a  rich  store  of  matter  for 
topical  preaching,  and  become  fitly  furnished  with  a  vari- 
ety of  Bible  counsels  and  comforts,  always  ready  at  hand, 
to  meet  all  the  varied  experiences  of  a  pastor's  people. 

§   III.      GENERAL   MANAGEMENT    OF    HOMILETIC   EXPOSITION. 

Expository  preaching  is  more  than  a  commentary,  or 
running  paraphrase.  It  must  possess  a  homiletical  form, 
and  answer,  also,  the  purpose  of  a  sermon.  "  To  expound 
the  past  is  one  thing;  to  move  the  present  by  means  of  it 
is  another.  The  perfection  of  lecturing  ^  is  so  to  combine 
the  past  and  the  present,  to  make  the  one  such  a  mirror  of 

I  In  Scotland  it  is  called  a  "  lecture,"  on  account  of  its  didactic  cluvracter. 
B  The  autlior  was  writing  for  Scottish  preachers,  who  call  expository  preaching  "  lect- 
uring." 


Management  of  Homileiic  Exposition.         287 

tlie  other,  that  what  is  said  of  the  one  shall  have  a  power- 
ful influence  in  moving  the  other.  *  *  *  *  And  no  doubt 
it  is  a  fatal  fault  of  many  lectures,  as  of  many  sermons, 
that  they  keep  at  a  great  distance  from  present-day  expe- 
riences, and  aim  only  at  throwing  light  on  the  remote  past. 
To  find  out  the  representative  principle  that  underlies  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  to  find  in  the  past  a  type  of  the  present, 
is  the  very  perfection  of  an  expository  lecture."^ 

Not  only  must  the  exposition  be  adapted  to  present  audi- 
ences, but  "  the  sermonizer  will  need  to  employ  his  strong- 
est logical  talent,  and  his  best  rhetorical  ability,  to  impart 
sufficient  of  the  oratorical  form  and  spirit  to  the  exposi- 
tory sermon.  He  will  need  to  watch  his  mind,  and  his 
plan,  with  great  care,  lest  the  discourse  overflow  its  banks, 
and  spread  out  in  all  directions,  losing  the  current  and  the 
deep  strong  volume  of  eloquence.  This  species  of  sermon- 
izing is  very  liable  to  be  a  dilution  of  divine  truth,  instead 
of  an  exposition."  ^'  ^  Hence,  the  first  requisite  of  exposi- 
tory preaching  is 

TJnity  of  Structure.  —  The  great  characteristic  of  the 
expository  sermon  which  distinguishes  it  from  the  com- 
mentary, the  paraphrase,  the  ancient  homily,  the  exhorta- 
tion, or  the  postil,  is  the  unity  of  its  component  parts.  Al- 
though explanation  and  instruction,  rather  than  eloquence, 
are  the  principal  aim  in  this  mode,  yet  the  minister  must 
not  forget  that  he  is  preaching  a  sermon,  and  not  merely  in- 
terpreting before  a  class  of  learners,  thus  turning  the  pulpit 
into  a  chair  of  exegetical  theology;  that  he  is  addressing  a 
public  audience  in  a  public  way;  and  that  without  some  rhe- 
torical structure  the  hearers  will  not  be  much  interested. 

1  Blaikie,  pp.  196,  197. 

2  Shedd's  Homileiies  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  155. 

3  Daniel  Moore,  in  his  Thoughts  on  Preaching,  says,  "  For  power  to  seize  on  the  salient 
moral  of  a  passage,  or  picl£  up  the  interlacing  threads  of  several  verses  and  lombine 
them  into  a  strand  of  thought,  the  preachers  of  the  period  referred  to  [Puritans]  are  sur- 
passed by  few." 


288  The  Preacher  a7id  His  Serrnoji. 

Unity  of  structure  is  more  necessary  now  than  it  was  in 
the  early  age  of  the  church.  The  first  Christian  assem- 
blies were  small  and  private,  and  hence  instructions  were 
given  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  familiar  conference  be- 
tween the  instructor  and  his  disciples;  and  the  style  of  it^ 
perhaps,  corresponded  to  that  of  Socrates  in  conversing 
with  his  disciples.  Then,  too,  as  instruction  and  indoctri- 
nation in  the  principles  of  Christianity  were  especially 
needed  in  the  primitive  church,  the  rhetorical  element  of 
the  discourse  was  not  so  necessary  as  now,  when  our  con- 
gregations are  more  public,  larger,  and  more  generally 
acquainted  with  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  church.  We 
are  also  reminded  that  the  American  people  are  a  "  speech- 
making  race,"  and  love  to  hear  a  discourse  that  is  modeled 
after  the  modern  rules  of  rhetoric.  Hence,  in  our  times 
and  country,  a  discourse  must  possess  unity  in  order  to  suit 
the  popular  mind.  Not  that  the  times  should  control  our 
preaching,  but  our  preaching,  so  far  as  it  does  not  sacrifice 
any  moral  obligation,  must  be  adapted  to  the  times.  Con- 
viction and  persuasion  are  now  as  needful  as  instruction; 
and  this  end  is  best  secured  by  such  a  presentation  of  the 
truth  as  shall  concentrate  all  its  elements  into  one  pungent, 
piercing  point,  by  the  aid  of  unity. 

In  order  to  facilitate  unity  in  exposition,  the  first  thing 
necessary  is,  that  the  passage  or  passages  selected  for  a  text 
must  cohere,  and  admit  of  arrangement  under  one  general 
subject.  The  division  of  our  Bible  into  chapters  and 
verses  was  very  carelessly  made,  without  much  regard  to 
connection  or  subjects,  so  that  many  have  been  led  to 
think  of  "  every  chapter  and  every  verse  as  a  sort  of  sep- 
arate   whole."  ^     Hence   the    preacher,  in    circumscribing 

1  In  the  new  Anglo-American  revision,  this  defect  is  somewhat  remedied;  for,  al- 
though the  marks  of  chapters  and  verses  are  retained  for  reference,  the  text  ij  divided 
Into  sections  with  reference  to  unity  or  division  of  topics.  The  present  division  of  our 
Bible  into  verses  and  chapters  origmated  with  the  commentators  of  the  Middle  Ages,  oa 


Manageme7it  of  Ho7niletic  Exposition.         289 

the  limits  of  his  text,  must  not  be  influenced  by  this  arbi- 
trary and  often  absurd  division  and  sub-division  of  the 
Sacred  Word.  What  is  required  in  the  unity  of  exposi- 
tory preaching  is,  that  the  passages  selected  be  rounded  and 
complete,  containing  some  leading  idea.  The  prescribed 
])ericope  must  have  reference  to  unity,  and  be  linked  to- 
gether by  some  common  vinculum ;  for  "  to  analyze  is  not 
only  to  sift,  to  disjoin,  it  is  at  the  same  time  to  tie."^ 

In  arranging  the  passages  into  unity,  the  order  of  the 
recorded  text  will  not  always  be  the  natural  order  of  treat- 
ment. Sometimes  we  must  begin  at  the  middle,  sometimes 
at  the  end,  and  proceed  according  to  the  general  rules  of 
topical  division.    A  few  examples  of  treatment  will  suffice : 

1.  In  treating  sections  or  chapters. 

Text. — I.  Corinthians,  chapter  xiii. 

Theme. — Christian  Love. 
I.  The  i^ature  of  Love,  verses  4-7. 

1.  Love  considered  negatively.  (1)  Kot  vaunt- 
ing, verse  4;  (2)  not  discourteous,  verse  5;  (3)  not  self- 
ish, verse  5;  (4)  not  provoked,  verse  5;  (5)  not  fault- 
finding, verse  5;  (6)  not  rejoicing  in  unrighteousness, 
verse  6. 

2.  Love  considered  positively.  (1)  Long-suffering, 
verse  4;  (2)  kind,  verse  4;  (3)  rejoicing  in  the  truth,  verse 

a  convenience,  and  is  not  a  division  of  subjects.  In  the  New  Testament,  the  divisions 
were  hastily  made  by  the  printer,  Robert  Stephens,  for  his  edition  published  in  15ffl. 
In  the  Old  Testament,  the  division  into  verses  is  found  in  the  Hebrew  manuscripts  of 
an  earlier  date.  Dr.  Strong,  one  ot  the  American  committee  of  our  Bible  revision,  saya, 
in  The  Sunday-school  World,  October,  1878,  "  Often  the  closest  connection  of  thought  is 
broken  by  the  present  division,  which  is  purely  accidental,  and,  vice  ver&a,  a  connection  ia 
falsely  suggested  where  there  is  really  a  break  in  the  subject.  Thus,  at  the  very  outset, 
the  account  of  the  general  creation,  in  Genesis  i.,  properly  includes  verses  1-3  of  chap- 
ter ii.,  as  every  indication  in  the  text  shows;  while  verse  four  begins  the  narrative  of 
man's  trial  in  Eden.  So  in  the  last  chapter  of  Revelation,  verses  1-5  belong  to  the  de- 
scription of  the  Heavenly  City  preceding,  and  the  remaining  verses  contain  an  entirely 
.listinct  topic.  In  like  manner,  the  division  of  a  verse  often  interrupts  a  sentence,  as  in 
Psalms  xcviii.  8,  9,  '  Let  the  hills  be  joyful  together— Before  the  Lord;'  and  so  Pealma 
icvi.  12,  13." 

2  Vinet's  Homiletics,  p.  148. 
19 


290  TJie  Pi'eacJiej'  aiid  His  Sermon. 

6;  (4)  bearing  all  things,  verse  7;  (5)  believing  all  things, 
verse  7;  (6)  hoping  all  things,  verse  7;  (7)  enduring  all 
things,  verse  7. 

II.     The  Superiority  of  Love,  verses  1-3. 

Love  is  superior: — (1)  To  human  and  angelic  elo- 
quence, verse  1;  (2)  to  prophecy,  verse  2;  (3)  to  perfect 
knowledge,  verse  2;  (4)  to  the  understanding  of  mys- 
teries, verse  2;  (5)  to  wonder-working  faith,  verse  2;  (6) 
to  complete  beneficence,  verse  3;  (7)  to  self-sacrifice, 
verse  3. 

III.     The  Durability  of  Love,  verses  8-13. 

Love  survives:  —  (1)  Prophecy,  verse  8;  (2)  lan- 
guages, verse  8;  (3)  knowledge,  verses  8-12, —  all  human 
knowledge  being  comparatively  partial,  verse  9,  imperfect, 
verse  10,  child-like,  verse  11,  and  therefore  uncertain  and 
transitory,  verse  12.  But  love,  is  as  eternal  and  unchange- 
able as  God  himself. 

Such  an  analysis  will  aid  in  a  clear  elucidation  of  the 
scripture  idea  of  love.  Of  course,  we  would  introduce 
the  chapter  with  the  last  clause  in  chapter  twelve, — "  And 
yet  shew  I  unto  you  a  more  excellent  way," — and  conclude 
with  an  appeal  upon  the  last  verse  of  this  chapter,  and 
the  first  clause  of  chapter  fourteen, — "Follow  after  love;" 
for  these  two  clauses  in  chapters  twelve  and  fourteen 
properly  belong  to  this  subject.  In  the  conclusion,  the 
summing  up  of  all  the  lessons  and  teachings  of  the  chap- 
ter would  evidently  point  to  Christ,  in  the  following 
manner:  To  "follow  after  love"  is  to  follow  after  Christ, 
for  the  description  of  love  in  this  chapter  is  but  another 
description  of  Christ,  who  possessed  all  the  attributes 
of  love,  negatively  and  positively,  as  described  under 
the  first  division;  and  though  he  was  superior  to  all 
men  in  eloquence,  prophecy,  knowledge,  understanding 
of  mysteries,  faith,  beneficence,  and  self-sacrifice,  as  per- 


Management  of  Homiletic  Exposition.        291 

trayed  in  the  second  division,  yet  it  was  love  that  made 
him  divine,  and  therefore  he  shall  live  forever  as  the  incar- 
nation of  love. 

2.    In  treating  a  single  passage. 

Text. — "Be   ye  therefore  perfect,  e"^en  as   your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect."     Matthew  v.  48. 

Theme. — Human  Perfection. 

I.  It  is  well  to  commence  with  the  little  word  "as," 
which  in  this  connection  is  the  most  liable  to  be  misinter- 
preted. Illustrate  with  other  passages  wherein  "as"  occurs 
in  diflerent  senses,  as  well  as  in  similar  senses,  and  thus 
prove  this  to  be  descriptive  of  manner  as  used  in  compari- 
son. 

II.     "What   is   divine   perfection?     "Your  heavenly 
Father  is  perfect." 

III.  What  is  human  perfection?  "Ye,  therefore, 
shall  be  perfect." 

lY.  Show  wherein  human  and  divine  perfection  differ, 
and  wherein  they  agree;  that  the  comparison  of  the  two 
is  one  of  correspondence,  and  not  of  equality — we  are  to  be 
perfect  in  ourselves  as  God  is  perfect  in  himself;  that  relative 
perfection,  in  all  its  degrees,  from  brute  to  angelic,  may  be 
■compared  to  absolute  perfection  only  when  it  is  complete,  as 
exhibited  in  the  nature  and  capacity  of  its  subject;  that 
two  circles  may  differ  in  diameters  and  circumferences,  and 
yet,  if  each  is  perfectly  round,  the  one  is  as  perfect  a  circle 
as  the  other;  that  a  dog  which  possesses  the  full  comple- 
ment of  canine  attributes  and  qualities  in  all  their  perfec- 
tion, is  as  perfect  in  his  nature  as  God  is  in  his.  God, 
then,  as  a  model  of  perfection,  determines  the  character  of 
human  perfection,  which  is  to  he  and  to  do  all  that  is  possible 
within  the  sphere  of  our  individual  capacity.  This  perfec- 
tion is  similar  but  not  equal  to  God-perfection.  (Luke 
vi.  10.)    This  is  the  highest  possible  human  perfection  that 


292  TJie  Preacher  and  His  Ser7non. 

can  be  conceived,  but  not  so  high  as  to  be  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  acquiring. 

§   IV.      CONTINUOUS    SERIES   OP   EXPOSITION.^ 

Some  preachers  give  a  series  of  expository  sermons  upon 
certain  characters,  narratives,  sections,  or  even  entire 
books,  of  the  Bible,  in  regular  consecutive  order,  without 
omitting  a  single  clause  from  beginning  to  end.  "  It  is 
very  common  in  Scotland  for  preachers  to  give  expository 
lectures  covering  the  whole  of  some  book  or  books  of  the 
Bible.  Preachers  have  been  known  to  begin  at  Genesis 
and  go  right  on,  sometimes,  however,  solectiug  only  por- 
tions, till  they  come  to  the  end  of  Revelation.  But  for  the 
most  part,  the  principle  of  selecting  certain  books,  as  being 
better  adapted  than  others  for  expository  lecturing,  has 
been  followed."  ^ 

Before  beginning  a  series  of  expository  discourses,  spe- 
cial preparation  must  be  made: 

1st.  By  carefully  studying  the  entire  section  or  book 
upon  which  it  is  proposed  to  give  discourses,  so  as  to  ob- 
tain a  view  of  it  as  a  whole,  and  learn  its  peculiar  features. 
Such  a  general  survey  of  the  whole  section  of  the  Word 
which  it  is  designed  to  treat,  is  indispensable.  If  possible, 
this  first  examination  of  the  held  to  be  traversed  should 
be  made  in  the  original;  for,  admirable  as  the  late  revision 
of  King  James'  translation  may  be,  there  are,  nevertheless, 
ideas  concealed  in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  texts  which  the 
best  translation  can  not  give.  The  next  best  thing  is  to 
study  the  text  with  the  aid  of  the  best  commentaries. 
Broadus  thinks  that  to  commit  the  book  to  memory  would 


I  On  this  manner  of  exposition,  we  are  much  indebted  to  Dr.  Wm.  M.  Taylor  for 
many  valuable  hintjs  derived  from  his  excellent  papers  on  "Expository  Treachiug," 
which  appeared  in  the  Ilomildic  Monthh/  a  few  years  ago.  Dr.  Taylor  is  considered 
one  of  the  ablest  expository  preachers  of  our  day. 

a  Blaikie,  Fen-  the  Wurk  of  the  Ministry,  p.  207. 


Continuous  Series  of  Exposition.  293 

be  no  bad  idea.  However,  before  beginning  exposition  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  end  be  seen  from  the  be- 
ginning, so  that  every  single  discourse  may  be  a  distinct 
and  discernible  step  toward  that  end. 

2d.  By  mapping  out  a  plan  and  dividing  the  whole  field 
into  separate  sections,  so  as  to  determine  what  and  how 
much  is  to  be  taken  up  in  each  sermon.  The  attempt  to 
carry  on  a  series  of  expository  discourses  from  week  to 
week  without  a  definite  and  previously  arranged  plan,  will 
result  in  confusion,  and  destroy  the  proportion  which  one 
topic  should  bear  to  another.  If  the  section  be  a  narrative, 
suitable  marks  must  be  discovered  by  which  one  portion 
may  be  distinguished  from  another;  if  an  epistle,  one 
should  analyze  the  logical  course  of  the  writer's  thought, 
and  divide  accordingly.  In  general,  in  choosing  the  divis- 
ion for  each  sermon,  one  ought  not  to  be  guided  simply  by 
the  length  of  the  passage,  but  by  the  unity  of  its  structure; 
however,  the  passages  should  not  be  so  long  that  the  expo- 
sitions of  them  must  be  weak  and  incomplete  on  account 
of  the  limited  time  which  an  ordinary  sermon  aflbrds.  In 
such  cases  it  is  better  to  divide  into  two  sermons.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  passage  should  not  be  so  short  that  the 
expositions  must  be  minute  and  microscopic,  unless  it  is  a 
very  interesting  or  important  sentence,  which  requires  a 
separate  sermon  to  meet,  perhaps,  the  special  wants  of  a 
congregation. 

1.  Having  passed  through  this  preparatory  course  of 
systemizatiou,  the  preacher  is  now  ready  to  begin  the  work 
of  preparing  sermons  as  they  are  needed,  week  after  week. 
"The  introductory  discourse  will  naturally  deal  with  mat- 
ters which  will  lead  up  to,  and  clear  the  "way  for,  others. 
If  the  book  be  historical,  it  will  be  well  to  give  a  lucid  but 
brief  summary  of  the  state  of  things  existing  before  and 
at  the  time  to  which  it  refers.     Some  attention  also  should 


294  '^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

be  given  to  the  author,  and  the  purpose  for  which  he 
wrote.  If  an  epistle  has  been  chosen,  it  will  be  well  to 
give  succinctly  a  history  of  the  planting  of  the  church  to 
which  it  is  addressed,  and  of  the  circumstances  which 
called  it  forth.  In  dealing  with  these  preliminaries,  how- 
ever, care  should  be  taken  not  to  be  too  exhaustive  or 
minute."^ 

Generally,  an  introduction  will  not  be  needed  to  every 
different  sermon  in  the  series.  Especially  should  one  avoid 
recapitulating  much  of  what  has  been  said  in  a  previous 
sermon,  but  should  proceed  with  the  subject,  after  making 
a  few  brief  remarks  as  to  its  relation  to,  or  connection 
with,  what  has  gone  before. 

In  managing  the  material  of  each  sermon  in  the  series, 
we  must  be  sure  to  make  it  strictly  an  expository  sermon, 
"in  which  not  only  the  leading  ideas  of  the  passage  are 
brought  out,  but  its  details  are  suitably  explained,  and 
made  to  furnish  the  chief  material  of  the  discourse.  In 
order  to  manage  this,  we  need  to  study  the  details  thor- 
oughly, so  as  to  master  them."^  Not  everything  that 
could  be  said  upon  a  text  should  be  said,  but  only  that 
which  helps  to  expound  and  explain  the  text.  Let  the 
minister  study  his  text  again,  more  critically  than  in  his 
first  general  examination,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  its  meaning. 
If  different  interpretations  are  suggested,  let  him  examine 
each,  and  come  to  a  definite  conclusion  for  himself.^     He 

1  Dr.  W.  M.  Taylor.  He  also  recommends  Smith's  Eihle  Dictionary,  Fairbaim,  and 
Kitto,  as  well  as  the  introductions  to  the  different  books  of  the  Bible  in  Lange's  Com- 
mentary and  in  that  known  as  the  Speaker's,  as  helps  in  preparing  an  introduction  to  a 
series. 

2  Broadus'  Preparati/m  and  Delivery  of  Sermonn,  pp.  309,  310. 

3  Dr.  Taylor  recommends  the  t'ollowiny  luithors,  as  helps  in  studying  the  e.xegpsis  of 
the  text:  For  the  Old  Testament,  Wiley's  Hebrew  Bible,  and  Ge-^enius'  Hebrew  Lexicon. 
He  cautions  the  student  in  respect  to  the  latter,  which  has  some  rationalistic  tendencies ; 
but  bearing  this  fact  in  mind,  we  may  use  Geseniu.s  with  greater  profit  than  any  other. 
For  the  New  Testament,  the  edition  of  tlie  New  Testament  in  Greek,  by  F.  H.  Scrivener, 
and  Robinson's  Greek  and  Enfjlinh  Lexicon  of  the  New  Testament.  Dr.  Schatf  considers 
Westcott  and  Hort's  edition  of  the  New  Testament  in  Greek  "  the  last  and  the  best  crit- 
ical edition  of  the  Greek  Teatament." 


Continuous  Series  of  Exposition,  295 

should  examine  the  text  of  the  Anglo-American  Revis- 
ion. He  should  read  everything  on  the  subject  of  his 
text  which  his  library  contains,  and  avail  himself  of  every 
help  at  his  command.  "  Then,  having  finished  his  study, 
let  him,  so  to  say,  lay  the  whole  matter  to  steep  in  his 
heart  and  brain  for  a  time,  and  when  he  has  found  some 
principle  of  order  which  he  can  employ,  or  some  thread 
round  which  his  thoughts  will  crystallize,  let  him  sit  down 
and  carefully  prepare  his  disconrse, —  as  carefully  as  he 
would  any  other,"  according  to  the  plan  already  laid  down 
on  pages  two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  to  two  hundred  and 
ninety-one  for  a  single  expository  sermon. 

One  thing,  however,  he  must  guard  against:  not  to  give, 
in  his  discourse,  the  details  of  his  critical  study,  but  only 
the  result  at  which  he  has  arrived.  The  technical  process 
is  for  the  study, — not  for  the  pulpit.  People  do  not  care 
what  this  or  that  commentator  or  scholar  has  thought, 
only  so  that  they  have,  in  the  simplest,  clearest  form,  the 
most  plausible  conclusions  of  our  investigations.  As  a 
rule,  the  criticisms  of  scholarship  should  be  avoided  in  the 
pulpit. 

The  conclusion  to  the  entire  series  should  not  be  an 
after-thouo;ht  of  that  which  was  omitted  in  the  different 
sermons,  but  rather  the  summarizing  of  what  has  been 
brought  out  upon  the  entire  section  or  book,  and  the  en- 
forcing upon  the  hearers  of  its  great  and  fundamental 
lessons. 

2.  But  while  the  main  work  in  this  mode  of  preaching 
is  exposition,  it  should  not  be  exclusively  such.  There  must 
be  some  time  given  to  practical  suggestions,  exhortation,  and 
application  of  the  lessons.  These  should  be  briefly  indi- 
cated, and  interspersed  throughout  the  progress  of  the 
sermon,  as  the  passages  are  expounded,  and  adapted  to 
the  wants  of  the  congregation.     Sometimes  they  may  be 


296  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

reserved  for  the  conclusion;  but,  by  all  means,  they  should 
not  be  forgotten  or  passed  over  inditFerently,  Ko  preacher 
should  miss  the  opportunity  of  bringing  the  irregularities 
and  derelictions  of  his  hearers  face  to  face  with  the  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord;"  or  of  contrasting  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible  with  the  current  practices  of  men.  He  should  culti- 
vate the  habit  of  looking  at  every  passage  with  the  ques- 
tion uppermost  in  his  mind,  What  lesson  "profitable  for 
doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness,"  can  I  enforce  from  this  present  passage? 
This  requires  skill,  which  can  only  be  acquired  by  long 
and  studious  practice. 

Four  things  should  be  observed  in  presenting  such  les- 
sons :  ^ 

(1.)  "They  should  be  natural.  It  will  not  do  to  tie  any 
inference  to  the  end  of  an  exposition.  It  must  not  be 
bound  to  what  goes  before,  but  it  must  spring  out  of  it. 
It  should  be  of  such  a  nature  that  as  soon  as  it  is  an- 
nounced, the  hearer  should  feel  that  it  is  fair  and  warrant- 
able, and  has  the  whole  force  of  the  exposition  behind  it. 

(2.)  "  They  should  not  be  common-place.  *  *  *  *  We 
should  not  care  to  say  what  recurs  of  itself  to  everybod}^ 
but  we  should  seek  to  go  below  the  surface  and  find  that 
which  eludes  current  observation. 

(3.)  "  They  should  have  some  'principle  of  unity.^  I 
have  not  attempted  to  bring  every  possible  inference  out 
of  my  subject,  but  have  contented  myself  with  those  which 
are  homogeneous,  and  those  I  have  tried  to  arrange  in 
climactic  order,  leading  up  to  the  highest  for  the  last. 

(4.)  "  Do  not  repeat  over  and  over  again  the  same  prac- 
tical inferences.  The  tendency  always  is  to  go  into  ruts. 
*  *  *  *     If  he  iias  similar  things  to  treat,  let  him  look 


We  quote  again  from  Dr.  Taylor's  papers  on  expository  preaching. 
Uero  Dr.  Taylor  gives  his  own  experience. 


Continuous  Series  of  Exposition.  297 

at  each  from  a  difierent  angle,  and  so  iu  the  eud  he  may 
find  that  he  has  gone  around  each  and  given  it  at  different 
times  an  exhaustive  treatment.  *  *  *  *  Thus,  in  expo- 
sitions, as  in  the  kaleidoscope,  while  the  verses  may  be  the 
same,  each  turn  of  the  hand  will  bring  out  new  combina- 
tions of  beauty  and  new  revelations  of  practical  power  of 
the  truth.  But  all  this  means  thought  and  work  on  the 
preacher's  part;  and  if  one  takes  to  consecutive  exposition 
to  save  himself  from  thinking  and  working,  he  had  better 
let  it  alone,  and  give  up  preaching  altogether." 

3.  What  shall  be  done  with  the  difficult,  mysterious,  and 
controverted  passages  which  will  be  met  in  the  course  of 
continuous  exposition?  The  expositor  must  not  dodge 
difficulties,  but  when  he  comes  to  a  knotty  question  let  him 
state  where  the  difficulty  lies,  and  if  he  can  clear  up  the 
difficulty  with  satisfactory  explanations,  let  him  do  so;  but 
if  not,  if  the  passage  is  inexplicable  to  him,  let  him  say  so 
frankly  and  pass  on.  Let  him  not  try  to  explain  the  inex- 
plicable. Such  passages  are  unsolved  "  enigmas,"  seen  in 
a  "mirror  darkly," — to  be  admired,  not  explained;  and 
are  placed  there  as  an  evidence  of  the  superiority  of  the 
divine  Author.^ 

4.  What  shall  be  done  with  the  delicate  passages? 
"Every  minister  knows  that  all  scripture  is  not  equally 
profitable;  and  that  there  are  some  portions  of  it  which 
are  not  appropriate  for  public  reading,  not  to  speak  of 
public  exposition.  AYhen  any  such  portions  are  come  upon 
in  the  course  of  exposition,  it  is  hard  to  know  just  what  to 
do.  To  omit  them  altogether  may  be  the  easiest  method, 
but  it  is  questionable  if  it  be  always  the  best.     The  topic 

1  The  custom  of  that  old  rustic  Bible  reader  is  good  advice  to  the  preacher  on  thifa 
point.  "  I  study  my  Bible  as  I  eat  fish.  When,  in  studying,  I  come  across  that  which 
is  inexplicable,  I  say,  "There  is  a  bojie,'  and  I  lay  It  aside."  Indeed,  it  is  folly  for  a  preacher 
to  strangle  himself  over  the  bones  of  mystery,  when  there  is  so  much  good  meat  in  the 
Bible  on  which  to  feed  the  flock.  Nor  has  he  a  right  to  give  any  passage  a  meaning 
which  he  is  not  sure  is  the  right  one. 


298  The  Pi^eacher  and  His  Sermon. 

suggested  may  be  one  which  ought  to  be  spoken  of;  and 
perhaps  the  most  profitable  way  to  deal  with  it  may  be  to 
devote  to  it  a  few  earnest,  ringing  sentences,  and  pass  on. 
I  never  can  forget  the  impression  produced  on  my  mind  by 
my  late  revered  tutor,  the  Rev.  John  BroAvn,  D.D.,  of  Edin- 
burgh, when,  during  the  course  of  his  exposition  of  Ro- 
mans, he  read  the  verses,  Romans  i.  26,  27,  and  said,  '  We 
shall  let  these  mysteries  of  iniquity  stand  as  they  are  hero 
exposed  in  all  their  hideousness  by  the  faithful  apostle.' 
Then,  after  a  solemn  pause,  he  passed  on  to  the  succeeding 
verses.  *  h:  *  *  jf  j  may  be  allowed,  on  this  matter,  to 
speak  from  my  own  experience,  I  would  say  that  no  sub- 
ject in  the  whole  course  of  my  expositions  so  distressed  me 
as  the  fall  of  David.  I  hesitated  long  before  I  determined 
to  preach  on  that  chapter  of  his  history,  but  finding,  as  I 
did,  that  some  of  the  most  solemn  lessons  of  his  life  would 
be  quite  lost  sight  of  if  I  passed  it  by,  I  ultimately  resolved 
to  treat  it  just  as  I  had  done  other  incidents  in  his  career. 
The  discourse  cost  me  ten  times  more  labor  than  any  other 
in  the  series.  It  was  re-written  more  than  once.  It  does 
not  contain  a  word  which  a  modest  man  may  not  speak 
and  a  modest  woman  may  not  hear,  and  I  know,  from  tes- 
timonies received  regarding  it,  that  it  was  one  of  the  most 
useful  in  the  whole  series  to  which  it  belonged.  But  my 
brethren  will  fully  understand  me  when  I  say  that  such 
subjects  must  be  handled  wisely  and  lovinglj^,  or  not  at 
all."  ^ 

§    v.      PORTIONS    OF    SCRIPTURE   ESPECIALLY  ADAPTED    TO    THIS 
MODE   OF   PREACHING. 

In  selecting  a  theme,  of  course  the  peculiar  tact  of  the 
preacher  for  unfolding  certain  kinds  of  inspiration,  and  the 
circumstances  and  wants  of  his  congregation,  must,  to  a 

I  Wm.  M.  Taylor  in  Homiletic  Monthly. 


Scripture  Especially  Adapted.  299 

great  extent,  decide  what  part  of  tlie  Bible  to  select. 
There  are,  however,  certain  portions  that  are  peculiarly 
adapted  to  this  mode  of  treatment,  on  account  of  their 
structure  and  contents.  Such  are  the  historical,  doctrinal, 
and  devotional  portions  of  scripture. 

It  is  well  for  the  inexperienced  to  begin  with  the  bio- 
graphical and  narrative,  as  preparatory  to  the  doctrinal  and 
experimental.  The  junior  preacher,  therefore,  will  not 
begin  with  Romans;  nor  should  his  first  efforts  consist  of 
a  continued  series  of  expositions,  but  of  single  sermons  on 
some  easy  topics.  The  book  of  Genesis,  because  of  its 
historical  and  biographical  character,  is  good  for  a  begin- 
ning. In  the  New  Testament,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
stand  foremost,  but  other  portions,  such  as  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  Luke,  or  the  fourth  chapter  of  John,  are  equally 
appropriate. 

After  serving  an  apprenticeship  in  this  mode  upon 
simpler  sections,  he  may  then  venture  upon  the  more  argu- 
mentative and  elaborate,  such  as  the  parables  and  mira- 
cles, the  beatitudes,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  farewell  address  of 
our  Lord,  and  the  ten  commandments.  Many  portions  of 
Paul's  epistles  are  rich  in  thought  for  a  skillful  expositor; 
as  examples  we  may  mention  the  eighth  or  twelfth  chap- 
ters of  Romans,  the  thirteenth  or  fifteenth  of  I.  Corinth 
ians,  the  second  of  Ephesians,  the  eleventh  of  Hebrews. 
The  second  and  third  chapters  of  Revelation  are  also  good 
subjects  for  expository  discussions. 

It  is  well  not  to  select  subjects  with  which  the  people 
are  already  very  familiar,  lest  they  lose  their  interest  in 
this  style  of  preaching,  and  say,  "  I  knew  all  these  things 
long  ago,"  It  is  better  to  take  up  the  more  neglected  por- 
tions of  scripture,  according  as  the  people  need  them  for 
edification. 


300  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

§   VI.      SOME   VALUABLE  AIDS   TO   EXPOSITORY   PREACHINa. 

The  first  is  a  knowledge  of  the  original  text,  attained 
by  the  aid  of  the  best  lexicons  and  grammars.  This  is 
the  best  commentary.  No  one  can  be  a  first-class  expositor 
who  is  unable  to  examine  for  himself  the  Sacred  Word  in 
the  language  in  which  it  was  originally  recorded;  yet  valu- 
able aid  can  be  obtained  by  a  careful  study  of  some  of  the 
best  books  on  scripture  exposition.  If  he  wishes  to  inves- 
tigate the  Pentateuch,  he  will  be  greatly  assisted  by  Keil 
and  Delitzsch  on  the  Pentateuch.  On  the  historical  part, 
"  Speaker's  Commentary,"  and  Stanley's  "  History  of  the 
Jewish  Church  "  are  valuable.  Lauge's  and  Henry's  com- 
mentaries may  be  consulted, — the  former  for  its  exegetical, 
and  the  latter  for  its  homiletical  character.  On  the  topog- 
raphy of  Palestine,  Stanley's  "Sinai  and  Palestine,"  and 
Robinson's  "  Biblical  Researches  "  are  the  best. 

On  the  New  Testament,  the  works  of  Meyer  and  Alford 
will  be  found  serviceable.  Bengel's  "  Gnomon  on  the  New 
Testament,"  which  should  be  read,  if  possible,  in  the  origi- 
nal, is  a  seed-bed  of  thoughts.  Every  clause  is  full  of 
meaning.  He  condenses  a  page  into  a  sentence,  and  some- 
times gives  a  sermon  in  a  phrase.  On  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  we  recommend  Alexander  and  Dr.  Vaughan ;  on 
the  epistles  of  Paul,  Lightfoot,  Ellicott,  and  Vaughan,  in 
connection  with  Conybeare  and  Howson,  and  Farrar,  on 
the  Life  of  Paul. 

The  biblical  expounder  should  consult  Farrar,  Pressense, 
and  Neander  on  the  Life  of  Christ;  Stier  on  "Discourses 
of  Christ;"  J.  P.  Thompson  on  "Theology  of  Christ;" 
Tholuck's  "Sermon  on  the  Mount;"  Trench  on  "Miracles," 
"Parables,"  and  "Studies  in  the  Gospels;"  and  "  Paur« 
Speech  on  Mars'  Hill,"  by  Dr.  Lindsay  Alexander.' 

I  For  further  information  on  this  subject,  see  Spurgeon's  book  entitled  0>mmen,iing 
and  Commentaries,  which  enters  fully  into  the  merits  of  those  books  concerning  which 


Valuable  Aids  to  Expository  Preachings        301 

Let  no  preacher,  then,  who  wishes  to  succeed  in  exposi- 
tory preaching,  imagine  that  this  mode  is  a  lahor-saving 
process,  to  be  adopted  for  the  sake  of  saving  trouble.  Ex- 
pository preaching  means  hard  work,  close  investigation, 
and  the  highest  order  of  homiletical  skill. 

every  preacher  desires  to  know.  For  a  list  of  authors  on  Bible  biography,  see  section  on 
Historical  and  Biographical  Preaching,  in  chapter  on  Varieties  of  Sermons.  Broadus, 
in  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  pp.  315-317,  gives  many  valuable  specimens  of 
expository  preaching. 


CHAPTER    YIII. 

THE  INTRODUCTION. 

Introductory  Remarks  on  the  Composition  of  the  Sermon  —  Definition  of 
Introduction  —  Design  of  an  Introduction  —  The  Materials  or  Sources 
of  an  Introduction  —  Improper  Material  for  an  Introduction  —  Char- 
acter or  Quality  of  the  Introduction — Suggestions  on  the  Composition 
of  the  Introduction. 

§   I.      INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS    ON   THE   COMPOSITION   OF   THE 

SERMON. 

Compose,  from  componere,  to  put  together,  has  reference 
to  the  actual  construction  of  the  whole  sermon,  including 
"both  invention  and  disposition.  It  is  concerned  with  every 
part  of  its  incipiency,  growth,  and  conception,  and  forms 
the  web  and  woof  of  the  sermon.  Vinet  calls  the  material 
"  the  chemistry  of  oratorical  discourse,"  since  it  has  to  do 
"with  the  elements  or  ingredients  which  interpenetrate 
one  another."  But  disposition  he  calls  "  the  physics  or 
mechanism  of  discourse,  as  it  has  for  its  object  the  stages 
which  succeed  or  the  parts  which  are  in  contact  with  one 
another." 

These  two,  substance  and  arrangement,  are  co-partners 
in  the  development  of  a  discourse,  and  often  grow  together, 
as  in  the  plant.  In  this,  substance  is  not  iirst  generated  as 
an  independent,  isolated  act,  and  afterward  its  atoms  dis- 
posed into  their  respective  places;  but  the  particles  of 
matter  arrange  themselves  spontaneously,  and  simultane- 
ously with  their  growth.  The  mind,  in  its  act  of  literary 
production,  in  its  most  active  state,  works  in  a  similar 

302 


Composition  of  the  Sermon.  303 

method.  It  is  analytico-inventive.  When  it  grasps  an 
idea,  it  usually  also  assigns  it  a  place.  This,  however,  is 
not  always  so.  Invention  and  disposition  are  different 
things.  While  their  acts  may  be  synchronous,  their 
natures  are  diverse,  and  we  would  make  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  all  that  can  be  done  for  disposition  has  been 
secured  when  invention  is  completed. 

Shedd  very  wisely  urges  the  adoption  of  a  'j)lan  before 
beginning  the  composition  of  a  sermon;  but  a  plan  is  dis- 
tinct from  composition  as  consisting  of  invention  and 
arrangement.  The  general  plan  of  a  plant  exists  in  the 
germ  of  its  seed,  and  the  general  plan  of  a  discourse  must 
first  be  in  its  original  inception  or  embryonic  state  before 
development  or  composition  can  begin.  Without  some 
definite  points  of  beginning  or  ending,  and  some  outline 
of  procedure,  the  discourse  will  likely  become  rambling;, 
hortatory,  and  confusing.  "  The  first  and  most  essential 
principle  is  that  a  sermon  must  be  a  vertebrate  composi- 
tion. It  must  have  a  vertebrate  column — a  backbone. 
*  *  *  *  Sometimes  we  hear  of  a  speaker  having  lost  the 
thread  of  his  discourse,"  ^  because  it  never  had  one  in  its 
plan  of  composition. 

The  simplest  and  most  generic  divisions  of  a  sermon  are 
the  Introduction,  the  Discussion,  and  the  Conclusion.  This 
analysis  has  reference  to  the  essential  constituent  parts  of 
every  discourse;  and  in  a  homiletical  treatise  these  parts 
should  be  treated  separately  and  consecutively,  for  these 
three  members  constitute  the  bulk  and  subject  matter  of  a 
sermon.  Other  topics,  such  as  text,  explanation,  proposi- 
tion, divisions,  and  development,  enter  into  the  composi- 
tion of  the  main  parts  in  different  ways  and  proportions, 
and  should  be  treated  in  their  proper  places.  Aristotle's 
division  of  discourse  into  introduction,  proposition,  proof, 

I  Zincke'a  Extemporaneous  Preaching,  p.  78. 


304  ^/^^  PreacJier  and  His  Serr?io?t. 

and  conclusion,  is  retained  in  its  essential  elements,  for  it 
can  not  be  improved  in  condensed  comprehensiveness, 
except,  perhaps,  that  proposition  and  proof  might,  in 
sacred  rhetoric,  be  merged  into  the  one  head,  discussion. 
JSTot  everything  belonging  to  the  introduction,  discussion, 
and  conclusion  is  discussed  under  these  heads,  for  many 
things  relate  equally  to  each  part,  and  to  the  sermon  as  a 
whole,  and  therefore  require  special  treatment  under  dis- 
tinct titles.  They  may  or  may  not  be  used  in  every  dis- 
course, but  "  in  any  formal  address  we  can  not  dispense 
with  such  grand  divisions  as  the  introduction,  the  argu- 
ment, and  the  conclusion;  for  every  true  discourse  must 
have  at  least  a  beginning,  a  middle,  and  an  end;  and  the 
beginning  and  end  are  naturally  of  less  dimensions  than 
the  middle.  In  like  manner  every  human  frame  has  a 
head,  body,  and  extremities;  every  rock  has  a  foot,  middle, 
and  summit;  every  tree  has   a  root,  trunk,  and  crown."* 

§    II,      DEFINITION    OF   INTRODUCTION. 

Schott  defines  the  introduction  as  "  all  that  part  of  a  ser- 
mon which  is  intended  to  prepare  the  hearers  for  the  body 
of  the  sermon,  by  bringing  them  into  the  same  circle  of 
ideas  and  sympathy  of  feeling  with  the  speaker."  More 
accurately,  as  to  its  true  purpose,  Hoppin  calls  it  "  some- 
thing which  conducts  to  the  real  subject,  but  which  is  not 
itself  the  real  subject.  It  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  the 
beginning  of  the  discourse,  but  it  leads  to  the  beginning."  ^ 
It  is,  then,  the  finger-board  of  the  sermon,  pointing  the 
auditors  to  the  subject-matter,  and  if  skillfully  executed 
will  lead  them  with  the  speaker  through  the  whole  line  of 
discussion.  Hence,  a  good  introduction  can  not  be  framed 
unless  the  whole  thread  of  thought  in  a  sermon  be  like  the 


r  Hoppin's  Honiileiics,  p.  287. 
a  Momiletica,  p.  338. 


Definition  of  Introduction,  305 

geometrical  straight  line, — the  shortest  distance  between 
two  points.  IN'o  circuitous,  rambling  course  of  discourse 
will  do.  The  divisions  must  not  be  angles,  but  a  series 
of  straight  lines,  or  else  an  index  finger,  or  introduction, 
will  be  needed  at  every  turning-point,  to  prevent  the  hear- 
ers from  getting  lost  in  the  mazes  of  the  wandering 
thought.  There  can  be  only  one  good  introduction  to  one 
good  sermon. 

The  introduction,  however,  is  not  always  an  essential 
part  of  the  sermon.  When  the  speaker  and  the  subject  or 
object  of  discourse  are  already  well  known,  when  the 
minds  of  the  hearers  are'fixed  on  the  subject,  or  their  feel- 
ings roused  by  the  circumstances  of  the  occasion,  nothing 
more  is  necessary  to  open  the  way,  and  one  may  at  once, 
without  any  preparatory  remarks,  plunge  into  the  theme. 
Such  was  the  case  when  Massillon  preached  the  funeral 
oration  of  Louis  XIY.  Having  read  his  text  (Ecclesiastea 
i.  16, 17,)  he  raised  his  arms  to  heaven  and  exclaimed,  ^'■Dieu 
seul  est  grand"  (God  only  is  great).  Similar  was  the  begin- 
ning of  Cicero's  first  oration  against  Catiline.  The  Senate 
was  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  having  laid  before  it  the 
traitor's  plot.  Catiline  unexpectedly  appeared  in  the  court, 
Cicero  arose  and  at  once  plunged  into  his  celebrated  ora- 
tion with  an  abrupt  invective,  "Quousque  tandem  abuterSj 
Catilina,  patientia  nostra  ?  Quam  diu  etiam  furor  iste  tuus 
eludet?"^  In  all  such  circumstances  of  exciting  inter- 
est, our  hearers  could  not  endure  a  cool  or  prosy  introduc- 
tion. "  The  most  necessary  business  of  the  exordium  *  ^  ^ 
is  to  throw  light  on  the  end  for  the  sake  of  which  the 
speech  is  made.  For  which  very  reason,  if  this  be  evident, 
and  the  case  a  brief  one,  we  need  not  employ  an  exor- 
dium." 2 

I  How  long,  then,  Catiline,  will  you  abuse  our  patience?  How  long,  still,  will  that 
madness  of  yours  display  its  mockery? 

3  Aristotle's  Treatise  on  Rhetoric,  Book  HI.,  Chapter  XIV. 
20 


3o6  The  Preacher  a?td  His  Sermon. 

Broadus  says,  "  The  German  preachers  very  often  give 
an  introduction  before  announcing  the  text.  This  fashion 
appears  to  have  originated  in  the  fact  that  most  of  them 
are  required  to  take  their  text  from  the  pericope,  or  lesson 
appointed  for  the  day,  so  that  it  may  be  assumed  as  to 
some  extent  known  ah'eady,  before  it  is  announced."  ^'^ 
The  text  is  always  a  part  of  the  introduction,  and  may 
sometimes  be  introduced  in  the  middle  or  end  of  it,  even 
where  the  German  custom  does  not  prevail.^ 

This  part  of  discourse  is  called  by  various  names  to 
indicate  the  same  general  idea.  A  prologue  is  a  discourse 
preceding  a  dramatic  play.  Exordium  is  the  name  often 
given  by  Latin  rhetoricians  to  denote  the  beginning  of  a 
speech.  "  The  proem  is  the  beginning  of  an  oration,  and, 
as  it  were,  the  preparing  of  the  way  before  one  enters  into 
it."^  In  music  this  part  is  called  prelude;  in  literature, 
preface ;  but  in  a  sermon  it  is  called  introduction^  from  its 
analogy  to  that  formal  introduction  to  a  stranger  which 
initiates  us  into  his  acquaintance. 

Every  sermon  before  delivery  is  an  unknown  creature  (?) 
to  the  congregation,  and  needs  some  words  of  intro- 
duction before  the  hearers'  sympathy  and  interest  can  be 
enlisted  in  favor  of  the  subject.  To  plunge  into  a  discourse 
without  some  premonition  would  be  like  a  shower  without 
a  previous  cloud,  a  summer  without  a  spring,  or  noonday 
splendor  bursting  out  of  midnight.  The  mind  is  so  consti- 
tuted that  it  can  not  instantaneously  or  abruptly  enter  into 
the  heart  of  a  subject,  but  must  be  led  to  it  gradually,  by 
regular  initiatory  steps.  There  is  no  conclusion  Mdthout 
premises.     The  discovery  of  galvanism  was  preceded  by 

1  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  250. 

2  For  example,  see  Pastor  Harms'  sermon  on  "  The  Goal  and  the  Complaint."  Tezti 
Phil.  iii.  12-14. 

3  See  sermons  of  Robert  Leighton,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow. 

4  Hobbes'  brief  of  Aristotle's  Art  of  Rhetoric. 


Design  of  a7i  Introduction.  307 

experiments  on  a  frog.  The  law  preceded  the  gospel.  The 
coming  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  was  preceded  by  the  preva- 
lence of  a  general  peace  all  over  the  world.  If  the  Lord 
adopts  such  initiatory  plans  to  instruct  men,  if  the  mind 
receives  higher  truths  only  as  it  is  approached  by  steps 
from  the  lower  to  the  higher,  we  need  no  further  argument 
to  show  the  Propriety  of  an  introduction  to  the  sermon. 
This  prepares  us  to  consider  the 

§   III.      DESIGN    OF    AN   INTRODUCTION. 

The  design  of  "the  introduction,  rhetorically,  or  as  it 
regards  the  treatment  of  the  subject,  is  to  mediate  between 
the  text  and  the  theme.  It  is  the  way  of  arriving  at  the 
one  from  the  other.  *  *  *  *  The  introduction  is  the  genesis 
of  the  theme — the  process  of  the  text's  crystallization  into 
the  theme."  ^  It  is  not,  as  in  the  secular  oration,  so  much 
to  conciliate  personal  favor,  or  remove  prejudice  in  the 
minds  of  the  hearers,  as  to  summon  their  attention,  enlist 
their  interest,  and  especially  to  lead  their  minds  into  the  sub- 
ject. Etymologically,  the  word  implies  a  leading  inward; 
and  it  is  like  a  vestibule  that  admits  us  into  the  audience- 
chamber.  It  is  a  part  of  the  sermon,  but  a  subsidiary 
part,  and  its  only  use  is  to  serve  as  an  inlet  to  the  theme, 
as  the  conclusion  is  an  outlet  from  the  theme  after  a  free 
bath  in  the  discussion.  "It  does  not  lay  down  any  truth; 
it  does  not  establish  any  doctrine;  it  simply  prepares  the 
way  for  the  fundamental  parts,  and  necessary  matter,  of 
the  discourse."^  Before  the  speaker  arises  to  address  his 
hearers  their  minds  are  unoccupied  and  unmoved,  or  often 
wandering  to  and  fro.  The  introduction  is  a  signal-bell  to 
arrest  their  attention,  collect  their  roving  thoughts,  and 
lead  them  en  masse  toward  the  object  of  the  sermon.     At 

X  Hoppin's  Homiletics,  pp.  340,  341. 

a  Sbedd's  Homiletics  and  Poitoral  Theology,  p.  180. 


3o8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

its  close  the  mind  should  be  eager  to  hear  the  discussion 
which  is  to  follow.  It  opens  a  channel  for  their  thoughts 
to  run  in,  which  widens  and  deepens  as  it  progresses,  until 
unconsciously  it  opens  into  the  great  stream  of  the  sermon. 

§    IV.       THE    MATERIALS    OR    SOURCES    OF    INTRODUCTIOiSr. 

These  are  so  abundant  and  diversijSed  that  we  can  men- 
tion only  the  most  important.     Materials  may  be  drawn, — 

1.     From  the  text  and  its  surroundings. 

Often  the  words  or  ideas  of  a  text  need  explanation. 
In  the  textual  sermon,  especially  when  discussed  in  the 
expository  mode,  it  is  not  so  necessary,  since  the  whole  dis- 
course is  devoted  to  this  work;  but  in  the  topical,  explana- 
tion is  highly  important,  except  when,  for  reasons  already 
mentione-d,  the  circumstances  of  the  occasion  require  no 
introduction. 

Sometimes  the  literal  meaning  of  a  text  may  seem  para- 
doxical, or  contradictory  to  some  other  text,  or  may  involve 
a  doctrinal  difficulty.  This  may  often  be  explained  by  refer- 
ring to  the  object  of  the  writer,  or  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  written.  Thus,  when  Paul  said,  "A  man  is 
justified  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law"  (Rom.  iii. 
28),  his  object  was  to  prove  the  great  cardinal  doctrine  of 
salvation  by  faith.  But  when  James  said,  "  Ye  see  then 
how  that  by  works  a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith 
only"  (James  ii.  24),  he  only  corrected  an  error  of  the 
Jewish  notion,  that  faith  is  a  mere  verbal  profession,  and 
taught  that  works  were  evidences  of  genuine  faith.  "  The 
two  apostles,  while  looking  at  justification  from  distinct 
stand -points,  perfectly  harmonize  and  mutually  comple- 
ment the  definition  of  one  another."*  So  also,  "Let  no 
man  therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  re- 
spect of  a  holy-day,  or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  Sab- 

X  Jamieson,  Fausset,  and  Brown's  Commentary. 


The  Materials  or  Sources  of  Introduction.      309 

bath-days"  (Col.  ii.  16),  meant  the  seventh  day  Sabbath, 
as  kept  at  the  time  by  many  Jewish  Christians.  Without 
this  explanation  some  of  our  hearers  might  infer  that 
Christians  are  not  now  bound  to  keep  our  Sabbath-day, 
meaning  the  first  day  of  the  week. 

Again,  the  time,  place,  circumstances  of  the  inspired 
speaker,  or  persons  addressed,  the  historical  period,  local 
and  philological  relations,  or  any  other  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  text  which  may  elucidate  its  meaning,  are 
proper  matter  for  an  introduction.  The  exegetical  method 
of  showing  the  nexus  between  text  and  context  is  much 
used,  and  in  the  topical  mode  is  especially  desirable. 

2.  From  the  subject.  —  There  may  be  some  general 
remarks  or  explanatory  observations  relating  to  the  theme. 
It  is  often  necessary  to  remove  some  common  objection, 
erroneous  conception,  or  well  known  prejudice,  which 
renders  our  congregation  unfavorable  to  the  doctrine  we 
wish  to  establish.  What  Whately  calls  "  introduction  cor- 
rective "  is  used  "  to  show  that  the  subject  has  been 
neglected,  misunderstood,  or  misrepresented  by  others.  This 
will,  in  many  cases,  remove  a  most  formidable  obstacle  in 
the  hearer's  mind,  the  anticipation  of  triteness,  if  the  sub- 
ject be, —  or  may  be  supposed  to  be, —  a  hackneyed  one."^ 
The  preacher  may  show  the  importance  of  his  subject  and 
his  reason  for  choosing  it,  and  "  may  state  the  intellectual 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  discussing  such  a  theme. 
The  subject  may  be  the  doctrine  of  moral  evil,  or  that  of 
divine  sovereignty;  it  may  be  said  at  the  beginning,  that 
these  are  the  greatest  problems  of  the  human  mind,  meet- 
ing the  philosopher  as  well  as  the  theologian;  that  they 
have  called  forth  the  strength  of  the  best  intellects;  that 
no  problems  are  more  difficult,  and  therefore  none  more 
deserving  of  the  attention  of   thoughtful  minds."  ^      Or, 

1  Rhetoric,  Part  I.,  Chapter  iv.,  g  2. 

2  Hoppiu's  Hoinileticn,  pp.  842.  3-13. 


3IO  TJie  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

"he  may  state  the  connections  of  the  subject  with  other 
more  practical  spiritual  truths.  He  may  remove  the  preju- 
dice that  the  doctrine  has  no  immediate  practical  bearing 
or  utility,  even  as  depravity,  for  instance,  or  the  doctrine 
of  sin,  lies,  in  one  sense,  at  the  base  of  the  whole  Christian 
system  of  the  atonement,  regeneration,  holiness,  and  the 
Christian  life."  ^ 

3.     From  the  relation  of  the  subject 

(1.)  To  the  genus  of  which  the  subject  is  the  species, 
and  vice  versa.  Thus,  with  the  text,  "  Arise,  and  go  into 
the  street  which  is  called  Straight,  and  inquire  in  the  house 
of  Judas  for  one  called  Saul,  of  Tarsus:  for,  behold,  he 
prayeth"  (Acts  ix.  11),  one  might  commence  by  stating 
a  general  truth  taught  in  another  passage,  "  Who  maketh 
the  wrath  of  men  to  praise  him,"  and  show  that  the  text 
is  only  an  instance  of  a  more  comprehensive  truth;  or, 
where  no  such  relation  exists  (namely,  of  text  as  species  to 
a  genus),  one  may  take  some  specilic  truth  leading  up  to 
the  subject.  Thus,  should  the  latter  verse  be  the  text,  it 
miffht  be  introduced  with  the  former. 

(2.)  To  some  other  subject  to  which  it  may  be  com- 
pared or  diflerentiated.  We  have  an  example  of  analogy 
from  a  sermon  by  Mr.  Robertson,  of  Brighton,  on  the 
text  (Gal.  vi.  7),  "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall 
he  also  reap."  He  commenced  by  stating  the  "  analogy 
between  the  world  of  nature  and  the  world  of  spirit," 
as  bearing  the  same  impress,  and  that  "  the  worlds  visible 
and  invisible  are  two  books  written  by  the  same  linger,  and 
governed  ])y  the  same  idea."  An  example  of  introduction 
by  difference  is  given  by  Blaikic,  on  the  text,  "I  am  in  a 
strait  betwixt  two,"  etc.,  as  follows:  "The  two  things 
that  Saint  Paul  was  in  a  strait  between,  are  not  those 
which  most  men  are  in  a  strait  between.     Most  men  who 

X  Hoppin's  HomUetics,  p.  34;i. 


The  Materials  or  Sources  of  Introduction.       311 

are  in  any  strait  in  connection  with  religion,  are  in  a  strait 
between  Christ  and  the  world,  between  earth  and  heaven, 
between  the  broad  road  that  goes  down  to  destruction  and 
the  narrow  path  that  leadeth  to  life,  *  *  *  *  but  the 
things  that  Paul  was  in  a  strait  between  are  quite  different 
from  these.  His  hesitation  lay  between  the  service  of 
Christ  here  and  the  full  enjoyment  of  him  hereafter;  be- 
tween this  life  with  all  its  drawbacks,  but  its  noble  oppor- 
tunity of  Christian  usefulness,  and  the  life  to  come,  so 
perfect   in   its   blessedness,  so  glorious   in   its  rewards."  ^ 

The  advantage  of  distinguishing  the  theme  from  some- 
thing else  with  which  it  might  easily  be  confounded  is,  that 
the  interest  of  the  hearers  is  thereby  gained,  and  at  the 
outset  their  minds  are  put  on  the  track  which  will  lead 
them  directly  into  the  subject. 

(3.)  To  some  anecdote  or  illustration  relating  to  our 
subject.  This  is  always  a  sure  way  of  gaining  the  hearer's 
attention,  but  renders  it  more  difficult  for  the  preacher  to 
maintain  the  same  degree  of  interest  throughout  the  rest 
of  the  discourse.  Hence,  the  narrative  should  not  be 
unduly  sensational  or  far-fetched,  but  decidedly  pertinent 
to  the  main  body  (or  discussion),  and  so  give  the  key-note 
of  what  is  to  follow.  Sometimes  one  may  begin  with  a 
well-known  maxim,  some  striking  quotation,  or  even  an 
imaginary  supposition. 

4.     From  the  various  'present  circumstances. 

(1.)  Of  time.  The  season  of  the  year,  or  the  hour  of 
the  day,  in  which  the  sermon  is  to  be  delivered  may  affbrd 
suitable  material  for  the  introduction  of  certain  texts;  such 
as,  "We  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf"  (Isa.  Ixiv.  6),  "For  there 
shall  be  no  night  there "  (Rev.  xxi.  25).  So,  also,  the 
character  of  the  times,  and  of  current  events,  is  often  cal- 
culated to  gain  and  fix  the  attention  at  once. 

I  For  the  Work  of  the  Ministry  p.  178. 


312  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

(2.)  Of  place.  The  scenes  that  surround  the  speaker, 
whether  at  home  or  abroad,  in  the  open  air  or  in  a  house, 
among  friends  or  enemies,  acquaintances  or  strangers, 
will  furnish  something  appropriate  with  which  to  begin. 
Thus,  Paul,  standing  on  Mars'  hill  and  surveying  the  scene 
around  him, — heathen  temples  and  statues  and  shrines  and 
deities  and  philosophies, — until  his  spirit  was  stirred 
within  him  as  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry, 
took  the  inscription  on  an  altar  for  a  text,  and  thus  com- 
menced his  discourse :  "  Ye  men  of  Athens,  in  all  things 
I  perceive  that  ye  are  very  religious.  For  as  I  passed 
along,  and  observed  the  objects  of  your  worship,  I  found 
also  an  altar  with  this  inscription,  '  To  an  Unknown  God.* 
What,  therefore,  ye  worship  in  ignorance,  this  set  I  forth 
unto  you."  ^  (Acts  xvii.  22,  23.)  Kever  was  there  a  more 
fitting  introduction,  calculated  at  once  to  conciliate  his 
hearers,  to  gain  their  interest,^  and  to  lead  them  to  the 
subject  of  his  sermon,^ 

(3.)  Of  the  condition  of  the  congregation  addressed. 
For  example,  their  need  of  preparation  for  a  revival  might 
constitute  the  substance  of  a  profitable  preface  to  such 
texts  as,  "Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  etc.;  "Awake, 
awake,  put  on  thy  strength,  0  Zion."  So,  also,  we  may 
take  advantage  of  their  lack  of  liberality,  unity,  zeal,  faith, 
etc.,  in  introducing  other  subjects  suited  to  their  condition. 

(4.)  Of  the  occasion;  such  as  funerals,  church-dedica- 
tions, conventions,  baccalaureate  days,  the  administration 
of  divine  ordinances,  etc.  Perhaps  this  is  the  most  suc- 
cessful way  of  preparing  hearers  for  the  discourse — to 
connect  the  circumstances  of  the  occasion  with  the  subject. 

5.     From  miscellaneous  sources. 

I  Corrected  rendering.  The  translation  which  charges  them  to  be  superstitious  is 
unfortunate;  the  correct  renderinc;  is  rather  a  compliment. 

3  By  calling  attention  to  one  of  their  altars. 

3  By  ingeniously  leading  their  minds  from  the  unknown  deity  to  the  true  one,  as  seen 
in  the  last  clause. 


The  Materials  or  Sources  of  Introduction.      313 

Sometimes  we  may  begin  by  remarks  on  the  strange 
way  in  which  the  text  is  recorded.  Bourdaloue,  on  the 
text,  "  Daughter  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me,"  etc.,  com- 
menced with  a  look  of  surprise:  "  Is  it  then  true  that  the 
passion  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  which  we  celebrate  to-day  the 
august  but  sorrowful  mystery,  is  not  the  most  touching 
object  that  can  occupy  our  minds  and  excite  our  grief?"  A 
similar  example  is  that  of  Robert  Robinson,  on  "If  ye 
love  me,  keep  my  commandments,"  who  began  thus:  '■'■If 
ye  love  me!  If  ye  love  me!  Oh,  cruel  if  I  Why  is  this? 
Is  it  possible  that  this  can  be  a  doubt?"  etc.  Sometimes 
we  may  begin  with  an  appropriate  prayer;  sometimes  with 
the  hymn  or  scripture-lesson  used  before  the  sermon,  if 
relevant  to  the  theme;  sometimes  with  the  cause  of  which 
the  text  is  the  efiect,  and  vice  versa;  often  with  a  proverb, 
striking  quotation,  or  even  an  imaginary  case,  "  as  Mas- 
sillon's  commencing  one  of  his  sermons  with  the  idea  of 
a  trial  or  court-scene  going  on."  ^ 

Of  whatever  matter  the  introduction  be  composed,  it 
must  be  especially  adapted  to  the  subject,  and  lead  to  it, 
and  not  be  calculated  merely  to  excite  the  attention  of  the 
audience  by  some  curious  or  odd  way  of  beginning,  which 
might  amuse  the  whimsical  and  silly-minded,  but  disgust 
the  sober  inquirer  after  truth.  Remembei'  that  the  main, 
legitimate  object  of  an  introduction  is  to  introduce,  not  our- 
selves, but  our  subject.  The  simple  act  of  rising  before  an 
audience  fixes  every  eye  upon  the  speaker,  and  before 
opening  his  mouth  he  has  their  exclusive  attention.  They 
survey  the  man  and  begin  to  pass  judgment  on  his  appear- 
ance, manner,  reputation,  etc.  If  at  this  critical  moment 
the  preacher  indulges  in  any  of  his  personal  peculiarities, 
or  petty  tricks  of  dramatism,  he  puts  the  hearers  into  the 
most  unfavorable  condition  to  listen  to  his  sermon.     His 

I  See  Hoppin's  Homiletics,  p.  351. 


314  The  Preacher  and  His  Sei-mon, 

first  effort  must  be  to  make  them  forget  the  preacher,  and 
his  second  to  make  them  think  of  his  subject. 

§   V.      IMPROPER  MATERIAL   FOR   AN   INTRODUCTION. 

At  the  commencement  of  a  sermon  the  preacher  is  often 
tempted  to  say  many  things  which  a  conscientious  fidelity 
to  the  supreme  object  of  the  sermon  will  forbid.  JSTothing 
is  easier  than  to  compose  an  introduction  when  he  assumes 
the  privilege  of  saying  anything  that  may  be  prompted  by 
his  feelings.  But  the  law  of  efficiency  imposes  on  him 
certain  self-denials  and  restrictions.  Hence,  to  begin  by 
complimenting  the  hearers,^  or  indulging  in  apologies,  is 
very  much  out  of  place.  All  this  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  subject,  and  ill  becomes  one  whose  only  object  should 
be  to  convince  and  persuade  men  on  the  great  themes  of 
the  gospel.  Many  begin,  especially  on  important  occasions, 
by  deploring  their  inability  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
occasion,  or  their  lack  of  preparation.  But  to  all  this  it 
may  be  replied  that  it  is  our  business  to  be  prepared;  and 
if  not  prepared,  to  mention  it  publicly  will  only  create  sus- 
picion as  to  our  sincerity,  and  impress  the  people  with  the 
idea  that  we  seek  the  praise  and  sympathy  of  men  rather 
than  their  spiritual  welfare,  and  may  at  the  outset  militate 
against  the  good  effect  of  the  whole  sermon.  Besides, 
under  a  sense  of  personal  weakness  at  the  beginning,  we 
may  quite  surpass  ourselves  before  the  close,  and  disappoint 
the  audience;  while  at  other  times,  when  fully  prepared, 
we  make  little  impression.  It  would  be  better  at  all  times 
not  to  mention  our  feelings,  but  rather  seek  our  hearers' 
prayers,  and  then  leave  results  with  God.^ 

1  This  was  the  fault  of  some  of  the  old  French  court-preachers.  See  Gould's  I\)st- 
Medieval  Preachers,  pp.  45-47. 

2  Ab  to  the  question,  Should  the  outline  be  used  in  introduction?  see  Theremin's  Syt. 
Rhet.,  p.  113. 


Character  or  Quality  of  the  Introduction.       315 

§    VI.       CHARACTER    OR    QUALITY    OF    THE    INTRODUCTION. 

It  is  not  enough  that  the  matter  suit  the  design  of  the 
introduction ;  for  the  materials  of  a  porch  may  be  suitable, 
but  not  well  constructed  in  reference  to  the  design  or  per- 
fection of  the  whole  building.  Hence  we  need  to  give 
further  attention  to  the  qualities  of  a  good  introduction. 
Many  writers,  such  as  Blair  and  Cicero,  urge  that  it  should 
be:  (1.)  Easy  and  natural.  (2.)  Correct,  without  the 
appearance  of  artificiality.  (3.)  Modest  but  dignified. 
(4.)  Calm  in  manner.  (5.)  Not  anticipating  any  material 
part  of  the  subject.  Claude  thinks  it  should  be  brief, 
clear,  cool  and  grave,  engaging  and  agreeable,  naturally 
connected  with  all  the  matter  of  the  text,  and  simple 
but  common.  Admitting  that  all  this  is  desirable  in  an 
introduction,  we  proceed  to  mention  some  of  the  important 
qualities : 

1.  Unity.  There  should  be  only  one  general  idea  in 
the  introduction,  leading  to  the  subject.  We  must  not 
amuse  our  hearers  with  various  objects  of  interest  in  the 
outer  court;  stopping  to  look  at  a  curiosity  here  or  a  mys- 
tery there,  pointing  out  something  pretty  near  by  or  some- 
thing fragrant  yonder;  showing  them  the  many  doors  that 
open  into  the  inner  temple,  as  if  the  most  important 
scenery  were  outside.  Where  so  much  is  to  be  seen  within, 
our  hearers  are  anxious  to  enter,  at  once,  through  the  door 
that  will  afford  them  the  most  advantageous  view.  iTo 
time  should  be  lost  in  unduly  lingering  around  externals. 
A  preacher  who  dwells  for  some  time  on  an  introductory 
idea  and  then  branches  off  to  another  and  another,  is  mak- 
ing no  progress,  and  at  the  end  of  the  introduction  will 
be  no  nearer  his  subject  than  he  was  at  the  beginning; 
while  his  auditors  all  the  while  will  be  perplexed  to  know 
what  he  is  aiming  at.      A  gun  that  scatters  shot  is  not 


3l6  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

likely  to  hit  the  mark.  He  will  thus  be  chasing  his  hear- 
ers hither  and  thither  in  pursuit  of  his  subject,  and  instead 
of  preparing  their  minds  by  collecting  their  thoughts  to 
one  subject,  he  confuses  them  by  turning  them  adrift  to 
the  scattering  winds  of  a  multitude  of  diverse  thoughts. 
This  does  not  imply  that  there  should  be  only  one  single 
idea  in  the  introduction,  without  any  subordinates  or  asso- 
ciates, but  that  all  ideas  should  converge,  and  not  diverge 
•or  run  parallel,  as  is  often  the  case.  Let  every  additional 
thought  be  tributary,  and  flow  into  the  same  channel  to- 
ward the  same  great  goal.  Unity  is  the  life  of  any  dis- 
course,   and   is    especially  important   in  an   introduction. 

2.  Pertinency.  The  preparatory  idea  must  be  not  only 
single,  but  also  pertinent  to  the  subject.  Pertinency  does 
not  apply  "  to  an  idea  in  the  neighborhood  of  that  of  the 
discourse,  but  to  an  idea  in  immediate  contact  with  it, 
between  which  and  that  of  the  discourse  there  is  no  place 
for  another  idea,  so  that  the  first  step  we  take  out  of  that 
idea,  transports  us  into  our  subject.  >f^  *  *  *  We  may  be 
.assured  that  an  exordium  is  not  a  good  one,  if  it  does  not 
appear  necessary,  if  it  does  not  appear  incorporated  with 
the  discourse,  if  it  gives  the  idea  of  a  foreign  discourse 
stitched  more  or  less  ingeniously  to  the  principal  discourse, 
if  it  leaves  the  hearer  at  liberty  to  think  some  other  ex- 
ordium preferable,  or  as  good.  The  exordium  is  good 
only  in  so  far  as  it  has  been  suggested  by  the  subject,  as  it 
is  born  of  the  subject,  as  it  is  united  to  it  as  intimately 
as  the  flower  is  united  to  the  stem."  ^ 

This  rule  of  pertinence  is  violated  when  in  our  introduc- 
tion we  include  or  anticipate  any  part  of  the  discussion, 
or  speak  of  an  idea  which  bears  some  kind  of  relation 
to  the  theme,  but  which,  for  some  reason,  we  rejected 
from  the  discussion,  or  consider  one   that   relates  to  the 


I  Vinet's  Ilomiletics,  p.  300. 


Character  or  Quality  of  the  Introduction.       317 

discussion  indirectly  or  obliquely,  perhaps  to  tlie  conclusion, 
or  to  only  one  point  of  the  sermon.  The  op.ening  idea 
should  give  a  terse,  general  insight  to  the  theme  without 
entering  on  any  one  detail,  be  preparatory  to  the  whole 
discourse,  and  as  nearly  as  possible  relate  equally  to  every 
part  of  it.  It  is  the  sermon's  aorta,  sending  forth  life  into 
every  member  and  ramification  of  the  body  of  discourse. 

A  good  introduction,  then,  must  be  incommutable;  for 
to  transfer  it  to  another  sermon  would  be  like  cutting  off 
one  man's  head  and  placing  it  on  the  body  of  another.  It 
has  a  vital  connection  with  the  subject,  and  when  perfect 
can  have  only  one  subject,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others 
conceivable.  It  is  often  so  skillfully  woven  into  the  thread 
of  the  main  discourse  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  determine 
where  the  introduction  ends  and  the  discussion  begins. 
With  the  thoughtful  preacher  there  is  a  gradual  move- 
ment, an  almost  imperceptible  progress,  from  primary 
views  to  those  more  fundamental.  "  In  taking  soundings 
of  his  subject  he  does  not  plunge  into  measureless  depths 
at  once,  but  through  the  shallows  nearest  shore  he  ad- 
vances, lengthening  his  line  by  degrees  until  he  measures 
the  deepest  waters.  As  to  progress  he  imitates  the  loco- 
motive, which  does  not  start  off  at  full  speed,  but  rather 
by  a  slow  beginning  and  measured  motion  at  the  introduc- 
tion of  its  course  gradually  attains  its  full  velocity."  ^  The 
effect  of  such  a  plan  is  cumulative,  and  when  concentrated 
on  one  point  falls  with  tremendous  weight  on  the  hearts 
and  consciences  of  the  hearers.  It  is  said  of  Jonathan 
Edwards  that  in  the  elaborate  doctrinal  part  of  his  dis- 
course he  was  only  getting  his  guns  in  position,  but  that 
in  his  "  apjplication "  he  opened  fire  on  the  enemy.  The 
same   is   true  of  President  Charles  G.  Finney's  sermons. 

3.    Brevity.      Some  one  said  of  John  Howe's  sermons 

X  Kidder's  Somileiics,  p.  163. 


3x8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

that  "  he  was  so  long  laying  the  cloth  that  his  hearers 
despaired  of  the  dinner."  Palmer  thinks  that  an  intro- 
duction should  never,  at  longest,  occupy  more  than  an 
eighth  of  a  sermon;  and  Hoppin  says  that  no  introduction 
is  better  than  one  which  is  long  and  wearisome.  No 
special  rule  can  be  given  as  to  the  length  of  an  introduc- 
tion. Some  subjects  from  their  nature  require  longer 
exordiums  than  others;  but  in  every  case  we  should  make 
them  as  short  as  is  consistent  with  clearness  and  prepara- 
tion for  the  discussion.  Many  preachers  consume  unnec- 
essary time  in  amplifying  their  prefatory  remarks,  and 
thereby  weary  their  hearers'  patience  by  unduly  detaining 
them  on  the  threshold  of  the  house.  Theremin  says, 
"  Time  spent  in  merely  paving  the  way  for  the  idea  [of 
the  discourse]  might  better  be  employed  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  idea  itself."  Especially  would  we  condemn 
far-fetched  narratives  that  begin  in  Genesis  and  end  with 
the  text.^  "  Adam  is  nowhere  else  so  important  a  character, 
not  even  in  the  Turretinian  theology,  as  he  is  in  the 
introductions  of  sermons.  *  *  *  *  Long-winded  intro- 
ductions generally  possess,  in  some  form,  this  fault  of 
antipodean  beginning."^  The  sermons  of  Augustine  and 
F.  W.  Robertson  deserve  to  be  studied  for  the  brevity  and 
artistic  excellence  of  their  introductions.  Especially  have 
we  models  worthy  of  study  in  the  introductions  of 
Homer's  "Iliad,"  Virgil's  "^neid,"  Milton's  "Paradise 
Lost,"  Dante's  "Divine  Comedy,"  and  Spenser's  "Faerie 
Queen."  Though  short,  they  no  doubt  were  not  composed 
hastily,  and  may  have  been  the  last  finished. 

4.  Sinfplicity  and  Modesty.  Auditors,  at  the  beginning, 
are  generally  calm,  so  that  it  is  exceedingly  imprudent  to 

I  A  preacher,  on  the  text,  "  Let  us  consider  one  another  to  provoke  unto  love  and  to 
good  works,"  introduced  his  subject  by  going  back  to  the  institution  of  marriage  in  par- 
adise. "  And  the  Lord  God  said,  It  is  not  good  that  the  man  should  be  alone."  It  occa« 
Bioned  a  smile  and  many  witty  remarks. 

s  Phelps'  Theory  of  Preaching,  p.  244. 


Character  or  Quality  of  the  Introduction.       319 

dash  upon  them  with  abstruse  and  earnest  thought  or  im- 
passioned and  imaginative  language.  Grand  imagery  or 
oratorical  display  at  the  outset  is  distracting,  and  inca- 
pacitates the  hearers  for  a  due  relish  of  the  solid  food 
which  is  to  be  laid  before  them  in  the  body  of  the  sermon. 
It  also  disappoints  them  by  promising  too  much,  —  by  im- 
pressing them  that  the  sermon  will  be  a  masterpiece  of 
eloquence  and  learning;  whereas,  unable  to  meet  their 
expectation,  the  preacher  gradually  sinks  as  he  advances. 
^'  It  is  difficult,  after  a  flowing  introduction,  to  support  and 
increase  the  Are  to  that  degree  which  such  an  introduction 
promises;  and  a  burning  commencement  ill  accords  with 
an  icy  progress.  The  preacher  in  such  attempts,  it  has 
been  said,  resembles  a  sky-rocket;  he  rises  in  a  flame  and 
falls  a  mere  stick."  ^ 

There  should  be  becoming  simplicity  and  modesty  in  the 
thought,  style,  manner,  and  preacher,  such  as  becomes  a 
mortal  man  standing  in  the  presence  of  his  Master,  whose 
message  he  is  to  deliver.  Luther  once  said,  "  I  am  now 
an  old  man  and  have  been  a  long  time  employed  in  the 
business  of  preaching,  but  I  never  ascend  the  pulpit  with- 
out trembling."  This  timidity  arises,  not  from  a  "  man- 
fearing  spirit,"  but  from  a  consciousness  of  the  divine 
presence  and  of  grave  responsibility.  We  may  be  timid 
for  ourselves,  but  bold  for  the  truth.  Drs.  J.  H.  Newman's 
and  Robert  South's  sermons  furnish  models  of  this  simple, 
unaftected  manner  of  introducing  a  subject. 

5.  Variety.  We  should  avoid  sameness  in  the  manner 
and  matter  of  the  introduction.  He  who  makes  the  intro- 
duction answer  its  chief  design,  will  soon  learn,  from  the 
foregoing  remarks  in  this  chapter,  that  every  sermon  re- 
quires a  special  exordium — one  which  can  not  be  exchanged 
for  another. 

I  Cannon's  Pastoral  Theology. 


320  The  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

Though  the  introduction  is  only  a  subsidiary  part  of  the 
sermon,  yet  great  care  should  be  taken  in  its  composition, 
for  two  reasons:  First.  Because  a  good  beginning  is  much 
in  our  favor,  Dimidium  facti,  qui  coepit,  habet  (well  begun 
is  half  done).  "  The  success  of  a  discourse  often  depends 
on  the  beginning;  from  first  impressions,  whether  good  or 
bad,  we  do  not  easily  recover."^  "  ]^apoleon  is  reported  to 
have  said  that  '  the  first  five  minutes  of  a  battle  are  the 
decisive  ones;'  and  this  remark  might  sometimes  also  be 
applied  to  a  sermon;  for  although  the  preacher,  like  a 
military  general,  by  good  fortune  and  skill  may  be  able 
to  recover  lost  ground,  he  may  also,  like  a  general,  not 
be  able  to  restore  the  lost  chances  of  a  blundering  and 
unfortunate  initiative  movement,  and  may  be  forced  to  a 
humiliating  defeat."^  "We  all  know  how  much  depends 
in  the  ordinary  aflixirs  of  life  upon  first  impressions."^ 
Second.  Because  faults  are  most  conspicuous  in  an  intro- 
duction. In  the  glow  and  vehemence  of  the  discussion 
our  hearers  are  more  apt  to  disregard  inaccuracies  than 
they  are  in  the  calm,  deliberate  introduction.  It  can  not, 
therefore,  be  too  faultless.  Dr.  J.  B.  Smith  wrote  out  in 
full,  no  part  of  his  sermon,  except  the  introduction. 

§  VII.    SUGGESTIONS  ON  THE  COMPOSITION  OF  THE   INTRODUCTION. 

Because  this  is  the  first  part  delivered  in  a  discourse,  it 
does  not  follow  that  this  should  also  be  the  first  part  com- 
posed. There  may  be  exceptional  cases,  but  as  a  general 
rule  the  proper  time  for  the  preparation  of  the  introduc- 
tion is  after  the  subject  has  been  thoroughly  studied.  To 
invert  this  order  would  be  like  building  a  portico  before 
determining  upon  the  kind  of  a  house  to  which  it  is  to  be 
attached.     Many  writers  on  this   subject  teach   that  we 

I  Gaichieg,  quoted  by  Vinet.    See  also  Cicero,  De  Oratorc,  Lib.  ii.,  Cap.  78. 

a  Eoppin's  Homiletics,  p   334. 

3  I'otter's  Sacred  Eloquence,  quoted  by  Broadus,  p.  249. 


Suggestio7is  on  Composition  of  Introduction.     321 

should  begin  with  the  introduction,  because  this  is  the  nat- 
ural way;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  natural  way 
is  not  always  the  logical  way.  In  the  preparation  of  the 
sermon  we  do  not  dispose  all  our  thoughts  in  the  order  in 
which  they  naturally  occurred,  but  arrange  them  with  re- 
spect to  logical  force.  We  do  not  speak  in  public  as  we 
think  in  private.  The  order  of  time  in  which  a  thought 
occurred  to  us  is  not  invariably  the  order  of  arrangement 
or  of  composition.  This  appears  evident  when  we  reflect 
that  the  introduction  relates  to  every  part  of  the  sermon, 
and  that  this  relation  can  not  be  secured  unless  we  know 
beforehand  all  the  parts  thereof.  "  There  is  no  one  feature 
of  the  introduction  which  may  not  receive  its  determinate 
character  from  the  proposition  and  the  discussion."^ 

"Without  first  knowing  the  substance  of  our  discourse, 
"it  is  all  a  matter  of  mere  accident  whether  there  be  any 
correspondence  between  it  and  the  body  of  the  discourse."^ 
Few  minds  are  so  spontaneously  logical  that  they  can, 
without  previous  premeditation  upon  their  subject,  begin 
with  an  introductory  idea  and  move  forward  in  an  ever- 
deepening,  widening  channel  without  deviating,  by  the 
law  of  association  of  ideas,  somewhat  from  the  index-idea 
with  which  they  started.  Even  when  this  could  be  done, 
the  plan  is  not  to  be  recommended,  for  it  would  make  the 
introduction  the  most  important  part  of  the  sermon — the 
supreme  ruling  idea,  making  every  subsequent  one  con- 
form to  its  requirements,  for  its  sake  alone,  and  that,  per- 
haps, to  the  sacrifice  or  exclusion  of  much  that  would  be 
important  to  the  sermon.  The  discussion  is  the  main  part, 
to  which  the  introduction  serves  only  as  a  stepping-stone. 
The  introduction  must  be  adapted  to  the  discussion,  not 
the  discussion  to  the  introduction;  and  it  is  certainly  easier 

X  Day's  Art  of  Discourse,  p.  66.  a  Ibid, 

21 


322  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

to  secure  this  adaptation  after  the  main  body  of  discus- 
sion is  known,  than  before.  But  where  the  two  can  not 
have  this  relation,  let  the  introduction  suffer  rather  than 
the  discussion.  "  Begin  always  with  your  finished  think- 
ing on  a  subject,  not  with  your  first  crude  attempts  to 
grasp  it." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  DISCUSSION. 

Origination  of  Material — Arrangement  of  Material — Qualities  of  the  Dia 
cussion  —  Explanation  —  Conviction  —  Refutation— Fallacies— Suggea 
tions  on  the  Composition  of  the  Discussion. 

The  Discussion  is  the  main  body  of  a  sermon,  and  there 
fore  demands  special  attention.  It  embraces  all  that  portiou 
of  the  discourse  outside  of  the  introduction,  proposition, 
and  conclusion;  and  failure  or  success  in  the  work  of 
sermonizing  depends  chiefly,  if  not  exclusively,  upon  its 
quality. 

The  discussion  is  the  development  of  the  body  of  dis- 
course,— the  unfolding  of  the  text,  theme,  proposition,  and 
divisions, —  and  consists  in  the  work  of  originating,  invent- 
ing, manipulating,  and  arranging  the  material  for  the  ser- 
mon. It  is  the  actual  treatment,  actual  building,  or  actual 
composing  of  the  sermon;  it  determines  the  character  of 
the  sermon,  and  bears  an  analogy  to  the  body  of  a  man, 
or  the  trunk  of  a  tree. 

§   I.      ORIGmATION    OF   MATERIAL. 

This  is  the  test  of  the  preacher,  requiring  the  utmost 

stretch  of  his  intellect.    Let  him  not  shrink  from  this  task, 

for  it  will  strengthen  his  mental  powers,  and  discipline  his 

tact  in  the  homiletical  art.     Skill  in  sermonizing  comes  not 

BO  much  from  a  knowledge  of  the  art  as  from  its  vigorous 

practice.     We  acquire  skill  by  experience,  by  failures,  by 

323 


324  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

despairs.  The  discovery  of  our  failures  leads  us  to  find 
out  the  true  method  of  success;  the  exertion  of  effort 
begets  power,  and  uplifts  us  in  the  very  attempt  to  grasp 
the  best  things. 

1.  Having  selected  the  text  and  theme,  the  next  thing 
is  to  to  apply  one's  self  to  the  invention  of  thought,  giving  no 
attention  to  anything  else  for  the  time.  Invention  is  a  species 
of  generation,  an  incubation  of  the  subject  which,  by  the 
warmth  of  vigorous  thinking,  at  last  brings  forth  a  brood 
of  ideas.  In  the  close,  vigorous  application  of  thinking 
out  the  subject  selected,  all  minor  considerations,  such  as 
arrangement,  method,  logic,  language,  etc.,  must  be  en- 
tirely disregarded.  The  mind  must  be  untrammeled  by 
such  hinderances,  in  order  that  it  may  be  free  and  unembar- 
rassed in  employing  all  its  force  and  concentrating  all  its 
energies  upon  the  work  of  evolving  thought. 

Some  wait  for  a  favorable  moment  when  sudden  inspi- 
ration will  seize  them,  or  thought  spontaneously  arise. 
True,  the  thoughts  that  come  to  us  unsought  are  often  the 
most  precious;  but  such  times  and  thoughts  may  come  or 
they  may  not  come;  at  least,  it  is  not  wise,  usually,  to  wait 
for  such  happy  but  uncertain  moments.  The  mind  must 
be  trained  to  think  —  must  wake  up  when  necessity  de- 
mands. Like  the  lazy  ox  in  the  stall,  it  must  often  be 
driven  to  work  with  the  lash.  Having  settled  down  on  a 
subject,  the  preacher  must  often  think  with  his  eyes  closed, 
must  shut  out  books  and  scenes,  retire  into  the  secret 
closet  of  his  own  ideality,  and  commune  with  himself. 
Let  him  then  fix  th-e  mind  on  the  thing  in  hand,  check 
reverie  and  rambling  thought,  fish  for  thought  in  the 
sea  of  ideas,  begin  with  the  first  thought  that  comes  to 
him,  however  meager  it  may  be,  and  use  it  as  a  bait  to 
suggestion.  Let  him  utilize  the  little  stock  he  has  as  cap- 
ital in  trade,  and  it  will  soon  increase  in  his  hands.    He 


Origination  of  Material.  325 

will  soon  find  by  experience  that  "  to  him  that  hath  shall 
be  given."  Be  not  afraid  to  sound  the  depths  of  your  soul 
with  the  plummet-line  of  earnest,  inquiring  thought,  send- 
ing down  the  searching  queries.  Who?  "What?  "When? 
Why?  and  see  if  the  profound  deep  of  your  own  soul  will 
not  send  back  an  answer. 

Sometimes  the  mind  is  sluggish,  and  will  not  respond 
to  the  call.  What  is  to  be  done?  It  must  be  aroused. 
Pray,  think,  concentrate.  If  your  thoughts,  unbidden, 
wander  away  to  some  foreign  subject,  recall  them  instantly. 
They  mmt  obey.  The  will  is  master.  Persevere,  think 
hard,  think  long,  until  the  entire  mental  machinery  is 
awhirl  with  activity,  and  the  heart  aglow  with  the  afflatus 
of  celestial  fire.  Then  coin  your  material  for  the  discus- 
eion.  Note  the  result  down  quickly  while  the  mind  is  yet 
hot,  giving  no  attention  to  language  for  the  time  being,  as 
you  only  want  to  nail  the  thoughts  for  future  use;  for  such 
mental  excitements  are  often  momentary,  although  when 
deeply  seated  they  will  last  for  days.  Should  the  mind, 
after  a  season  of  severe  application,  again  become  dull  or 
fagged  out  through  intense  labor  before  the  work  is  com- 
pleted, dismiss  it  all  entirely  from  your  mind  until  another 
day.  Then  come  to  it  afresh,  as  before,  and  thus  continue 
until  the  work  of  mental  exploration  and  digging  is  done. 

This  process  of  intense  mental  incubation  is  the  secret 
of  rich  discovery.  Vinet  says,  "  Invention  is  a  kind  of 
divining-rod,"  ^  and  quotes  the  very  apt  words  of  Mar- 
montel,  "  The  generality  of  writers  pass  and  repass  over 
mines  of  gold,  a  thousand  times,  without  suspecting  their 
existence."  Dr.  Joseph  Parker,  in  his  "  Advices  to  a 
Young  Preacher,"  quotes  these  excellent  remarks  from  Dr. 
John  Campbell:  "Some  pulpit  ramblers  range  the  whole 
field,  -flying  everywhere,  but  digging  nowhere.     Be  you  a 

z  Momiletics,  p.  60. 


326  The  Preacher  ajid  His  Ser'vion. 

digger;  sink  the  shaft  fearlessly;  the  gold  is  emboweled  in 
the  deep  places;  go  down,  persevere,  and  bring  it  up. 
There  is  water  even  in  the  rock;  smite  it  with  a  heaven- 
directed  hand,  and  it  will  gush  most  freely.  There  is  poetry 
in  all  the  old  historic  page;  breathe  on  it  with  prayer,  and 
the  song  will  be  heard.  Whatever  your  text  be,  it  is  capable 
of  turning  out  plenty  of  material  to  sustain  a  separate 
discourse;  honor  it  so,  and  you  will  never  lack  scope  and 
variety."^  This  is  excellent  advice;  and  would  that  every 
preacher  would  see  and  practice  it. 

There  are  various  methods  of  stimulating  thought.  Some 
shut  themselves  up  in  a  dark  room;  others  can  invent  best 
by  walking  the  floor.  Schleiermacher  made  his  sermons, 
leaning  out  of  the  window.  Robert  Hall  composed  his 
elegant  discourses  while  lying  at  full  length  upon  chairs 
placed  side  by  side.  Others  can  think  most  freely  by  writ- 
ing. They  write  until  they  feel  a  glow;  the  faster  the 
better.  However,  a  better  way  have  they  who  before  tak- 
ing a  pen  get  themselves  saturated  with  their  subject. 
They  write  from  a  full  head.  "You  might  as  well  attempt 
to  scratch  your  thoughts  upon  paper  without  ink,  or  pour 
water  from  an  empty  pitcher,  as  to  write  from  vacuity;" 
but  having  a  few  seed-thoughts  to  start  from,  many  can 
quicken  them  into  rapid  fruitfulness  by  the  process  of  rapid 
writing.  The  following  was  Dr.  Blackburn's  plan:  "In 
his  studies  and  preparation  for  the  pulpit,  his  plan  was  to 
fold  a  sheet  of  paper  and  lay  it  on  his  writing-desk,  and 
then  commence  walking  backward  and  forward  across  the 
room,  occasionally  stopping  to  note  down  a  head  or  lead- 
ing subdivision  of  his  thoughts,  leaving  considerable  space 
under  each  note.  Haviug  thus  arranged  the  plan  of  his 
discourse,  which  he  called  'blazing  his  path,' — borrowing 
a  figure  from  backwoods  life, —  he  then  proceeded  to  take 

X  Ad  aerum,  p.  170. 


Origination  of  Material.  2>'^'j 

up  each  head  and  subdivision  separately,  and  amplify  it  in 
his  mind,  until  he  had  thought  his  whole  discourse  through 
and  through,  stopping  occasionally,  as  before,  to  jot  down 
a  word  or  thought,  sometimes  a  sentence  or  an  illustration, 
under  each  division,  until  he  had  finished."^ 

Out  of  the  many  ways  used  by  preachers,  each  one  must 
know  what  plan  is  best  for  him  to  adopt;  for  it  is  not  to 
be  expected  that  we  should  all  do  our  work  in  the  same 
way.  It  is,  however,  a  well  admitted  fact  that  no  exercise 
is  more  useful  in  quickening  thought  than  earnest,  fervent 
prayer.  Let  the  preacher  who  fails  to  arouse  his  mind, 
retire  to  his  closet  of  devotion,  and  pour  out  his  soul  in 
holy  communion  with  God,  until  his  heart  is  touched  with 
a  live  coal  of  religious  fervor.  This,  more  than  anything 
else,  will  stir  the  feelings,  kindle  the  imagination,  and 
shake  the  mind  out  of  its  supineness  and  lethargy.  "  The 
best  sermons  of  a  preacher  are  generally  composed  under 
the  impulse  of  a  lively  state  of  religious  feeling."^  Sermons 
that  savor  of  the  praying-breath,  or  give  evidence  of  hav- 
ing been  born  under  a  shower  of  tears  that  fell  over  the 
ills  of  distressed  humanity,  or  have  sprung  up  out  of  per- 
sonal experience  while  struggling  with  some  temptation 
or  triumphing  over  some  bosom  sin, —  such  sermons,  in 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  breathing,  will  always  be  brimful 
of  interest,  and  be  sure  to  benefit  the  hearer. 

2.  Having  exhausted  his  own  resources  upon  the  sub- 
ject by  this  sort  of  mental  and  spiritual  meditation,  the 
preacher  may  then  resort  to  suggestive  reading.  There  are 
some  books  that  are  stimulating  and  inspiring.  Their 
thoughts  glow  with  animation,  and  kindle  in  our  minds 
a  new  activity.  By  such  communings  with  superior  minds 
our  thoughts  are  aroused  anew;   and  "thus  uplifted,  the 

I  Presbyterian  Quarterly  Review,  March,  1853. 
•  Sbedd's  Eomiletica,  p.  131. 


328  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

mind  olDtains  inspiration;  and  thus  inspired,  it  may  go 
back  to  the  thing  in  hand,  tremulous  with  inventive  ardor." 
But  we  should  also  read  whatever  we  can  find  upon  the 
subject  of  our  discussion, —  not  so  much  for  the  sake  of 
accumulating  more  and  better  material  for  the  sermon,  as 
for  suggesting  to  us  new  views  of  thought  or  methods  of 
treatment.  What  we  want  is  the  employment  of  every 
expedient  that  will  help  to  open  up  the  subject  before  our 
gaze,  even  if  sometimes  we  must  look  through  the  tele- 
scope of  other  men's  ideas  to  see  what  lies  beyond,  or  to 
enlarge  our  field  of  mental  vision. 

Kidder's  six  brief  rules  in  reference  to  invention  are  so 
valuable  that  we  here  quote  them  in  full: 

"  1.  Address  your  mind  to  the  invention  of  thoughts,  not 
words.     Words  may  be  employed,  but  only  as  auxiliaries. 

"2.  Kote  down  or  otherwise  make  sure  of  whatever 
relevant  thoughts  your  mind  can  call  to  its  aid,  irrespective 
of  order,  or  mainly  so. 

"3.  At  first  be  not  too  scrupulous  on  the  subject  of 
relevancy.  Entertain  whatever  seemingly  good  thoughts 
come  at  your  call.  Try  them,  push  them  out  to  conclu- 
sions. Perhaps  if  not  available  themselves  they  will  lead 
to  others  that  are. 

"  4.  Pursue  invention  in  every  variety  of  circumstance, 
in  the  study  and  out  of  it.  Make  it  the  subject  of  special 
and  protracted  occupation,  and  also  of  occasional  atten- 
tion, when  walking  or  riding,  when  taking  exercise  or  rest. 
One's  very  dreams  at  night  may  sometimes  be  made  serv- 
iceable for  this  object. 

"5.  Make  an  early  selection  of  subjects  in  order  to 
secure  the  advantages  of  the  repeated  and  incidental  action 
of  the  inventive  powers. 

"  6.  Use  former  studies  and  preparations  as  helps  to  in- 
vention rather  than  as  substitutes  for  it. 


Arrangement  of  Material.  329 

"  Invention  as  thus  practiced  will  always  strengthen  but 
never  exhaust  itself.  It  will  become  a  most  delightful 
exercise,  causing  the  mind  to  glow  with  rapture  at  its  new 
creations  and  combinations."  ^ 

§    n.      ARRANGEMENT    OF    MATERIAL. 

After  the  severest  labor,  the  best  'plan  sometimes  remains 
to  be  discovered;  and  for  the  purpose  of  drafting  a  good 
scheme,  the  books  we  have  read,  the  notes  we  have  made, 
should  be  laid  aside  for  awhile  in  order  to  give  the  mind 
time  to  re-adjust  itself  to  a  new  kind  of  activity  in  making 
the  transit  from  the  inventive  to  the  planning  tendency. 
This  second  work  in  the  development  of  the  discussion 
is  the  arrangement  of  material.  Inventing  thought  is  em- 
phatically the  work  of  composition;  arranging  the  thought 
generated,  although  highly  important,  is  a  secondary  and 
inferior  task.  The  first  is  creative  and  penetrative;  the 
second,  formulative  and  superficial.  The  former  consti- 
tutes the  life-substance  of  a  sermon;  the  latter  is  merely 
the  body,  and  without  the  former  a  dead  carcass.  Hence 
the  order  of  composition  is,  first,  evolving  thought;  second, 
arranging  thought. 

Many  minds  think  vigorously  on  a  point,  but  languidly 
in  outline  and  detail.  They  become  enervated  when  they 
pass  from  the  work  of  the  thinker  to  the  work  of  the 
orator.  In  the  production  of  an  elegant  discourse  some- 
thing more  is  needed  than  a  clear  grasp  of  the  subject. 
The  miscellaneous  crowd  of  particular  ideas  which  the 
mind  generates  out  of  a  given  theme  must  not  be  presented 
in  the  confused  order  of  their  spontaneous  production. 
The  difi'erence  between  a  common  and  an  eloquent  sermon 
is  often  but  a  difi'erence  in  the  mode  of  treatment.  Good 
thoughts  may  be  abundant,  but  if  poorly  arranged  will 

I  HomUetics,  pp.  152, 153. 


330  The  PreacJier  and  His  Sermon. 

lose  much  of  their  force.  Ideas  have  relations  to  each 
other,  either  as  antecedent  and  consequent,  or  as  primary 
and  secondary;  and  a  proper  arrangement  of  these  ideas 
will  give  them  additional  force,  each  one  being  a  cog-wheel 
between  two  wheels,  which  receives  from  the  preceding, 
and  imparts  to  the  succeeding,  an  increasing  momentum. 
If  every  wheel  in  the  structure  of  the  machinery  is  in 
place,  and  the  whole  arranged  in  view  of  some  particular 
end,  the  work  of  the  discussion  will  be  well  accomplished. 
This  process  of  arranging  is  called  by  rhetoricians  DiS' 
positioji,  and  completes  the  work  of  invention.  The  difi'er- 
ence  between  the  two  is  thus  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Kidder: 
"  Invention  accumulates,  disposition  distributes.  Invention 
gathers  together  the  wood,  the  stone,  the  iron,  and  every 
species  of  material  essential  to  a  building.  Disposition 
from  shapeless  heaps  constructs  a  beautiful  edifice.  The- 
business  of  invention  is  to  roam  in  the  forest,  to  delve  in 
the  quarry,  to  sink  the  mine  and  purge  its  ores,  to  visit 
the  manufactory  and  select  its  useful  or  ornamental  prod- 
ucts. Disposition  takes  the  material  selected  and  places 
each  stone,  each  piece  of  wood,  and  each  ornament  or 
fastening  where  it  is  required."  ^ 

§    III.      QUALITIES    OP    THE   DISCUSSION. 

1.  Unity. — Unity  is  that  quality  of  discussion  which 
consists  in  the  converging  of  all  its  parts  steadily  to  one 
object — in  their  gravitation  toward  a  common  center.  The 
speaker  must  have  one  general  aim,  and  the  hearer  get  one 
general  impression.  The  plurality  of  material  must  be  so 
arrlinged  and  treated  that  unity  will  run  through  the  whole, 
and  through  all  its  parts,  combining  all  its  elements  in  the 
conclusion.  Hence  it  is  necessary  to  frame  every  discourse 
into  a  doctrinal  proposition,  to  be  held  up  as  the  pole-star 

I  HotnUetics,  pp.  163,  104. 


Qualities  of  the  Discussion.  331 

in  the  voyage  of  discussion.  "The  unity,  however,  may 
be  that  of  subject  or  of  person  or  of  place,  provided  in  the 
latter  cases  there  be  also  some  internal  connection,  so  that 
all  may  blend  in  the  general  efi'ect  of  the  discourse.  Thus 
topics  apparently  so  diverse  as  suicide,  ingratitude,  avarice, 
and  remorse,  might  all  be  treated  in  a  sermon  upon  Judas, 
because  they  not  only  pertain  to  the  one  person,  but  were  in 
his  case  intimately  connected,  as  will  be  apparent  from 
stating  them  in  a  different  order,  avarice,  ingratitude,  re- 
morse, suicide."^ 

Unity  may  be  sacrificed  by  needless  digression.  Row- 
land Hill  often  went  so  far  as  to  introduce  various  sub- 
jects, entirely  different  from  each  other,  into  one  sermon. 
His  familiar  saying  is,  "  The  gospel  is  an  excellent  milch- 
cow,  which  always  gives  plenty  of  milk,  and  of  the  best 
quality.  I  first  pull  at  justification;  then  I  give  a  plug  at 
adoption,  and  afterward  a  tit  at  sanctification,  and  so  on 
till  I  have  filled  my  pail  with  gospel  milk."  Such  preach- 
ing is  as  aimless  as  the  language  is  quaint. 

Often  excessive  illustrations,  comparisons  or  contrasts, 
or  elaborate  treatment  of  interesting  but  minor  points, 
tend  to  give  the  discourse  a  centrifugal  force.  Whatever 
topics  are  introduced,  they  should  have  a  common  afdnity 
for  each  other,  and  pertinence  to  the  theme,  so  as  to  form 
an  aggregate  whole  in  the  discussion. 

2.  Symmetry.  —  This  has  respect  to  the  development  of 
the  parts,  and  the  proportion  which  each  part  or  division 
should  bear  in  relation  to  the  main  proposition  and  to 
every  other  part  of  the  discourse.  A  sermon  is  like  a  body 
with  an  osseous  frame-work  of  proper  proportions.  The 
frame-work  must  not  have  the  body  of  a  monster  attached 
to  a  feeble  back-bone,  or  thigh-bones  like  finger-bones, 
and  finger-bones  like  thigh-bones,  or  a  giant's  head  and  an 

X  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  296. 


332  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

infant's  body.  So  a  discourse  with  its  main  proposition, 
feebl}''  constructed  and  its  subsidiary  parts  unduly  magni- 
fied, would  be  a  mental  monstrosity.  "  It  is  a  great  beauty 
when  a  preacher  knows  in  what  part  the  real  pith  of  his 
sermon  lies,  and  where  to  lay  out  his  strength."  ^ 

Proportion  should  be  governed  by  weight,  the  largest 
space  being  given  to  the  weightiest  matter.  Each  thought 
must  be  fully  developed  and  strengthened,  and  yet  not 
beyond  what  its  relative  importance  demands.  This  gives 
tone  and  balance  to  the  sermon;  otherwise  it  would  be  de- 
formed in  symmetry  and  impaired  in  rhetorical  strength. 
The  plan  of  the  discourse  should  have,  so  to  speak,  a  spinal 
column,  with  well-balanced  limbs  and  ligatures,  and  then 
each  part  should  be  clothed  with  sufficient  flesh  to  give  it 
strength  and  beauty  of  figure. 

3.  Progress.  —  "  This  has  reference  to  the  right  ordering 
of  thoughts,  so  that  one  thought  should  prepare  for  and 
be  succeeded  by  another  which  forms  an  advance;  this 
secures  an  increasing  momentum  of  impression.  The 
sermon  should  not  repeat  itself,  or  retrace  its  steps,  but  go 
on  with  accelerated  power  to  the  end."  ^ 

§    IV.      EXPLANATION. 

The  material  being  at  hand  and  a  plan  laid,  how  shall 
we  compose  with  the  best  effect?  Here,  in  the  first  place, 
we  need  to  be  reminded  that  the  three  great  objects  of  a 
discussion  are:  (1.)  Explanation.  (2.)  Conviction.  (3.) 
Persuasion.  The  first  two  appeal  to  the  intellect;  the  last, 
to  the  sensibilities  and  will.  As  the  last  step,  namely,  per- 
suasion, follows  naturally  from  a  faithful  presentation  of 
the  first  and  second,  and  depends  much  upon  a  forcible 
delivery,  we  will  reserve  this  last  for  the  chapter  on  Elo- 

1  Hoppin's  Office  and  Work  of  the  Christian  Ministry,  p.  176. 

2  Uo]ii>\n^9  llomilclics,  pp.  421,  425. 


Explanation.  'i,Z2> 

quence.  In  tlie  chapter  on  Species  of  Sermons  we  consid- 
ered the  disposition  of  divisions  as  applied  to  the  discussion. 
"We  will  here  consider  the  means  employed  in  the  compo- 
sition of  the  discussion  in  order  to  instruct  and  convince 
the  intellect;  first  among  which  is  Explanation. 

Explanation  is  the  elucidating  and  illuminating  process 
by  which  the  material  is  made  to  stand  out  clearly  before 
the  hearer's  mind.  It  has  reference  to  the  text,  as  well  as 
to  the  ideas  evolved  from  it,  and  should  be  introduced  in 
every  part  of  the  discussion  where  a  somewhat  detailed 
amplifying  is  necessary  to  render  clear  some  unintelligible 
or  misty  thoughts  that  would  otherwise  escape  the  hearer's 
recognition  and  appreciation.  Some  texts  of  scripture  have 
never  been  understood  by  the  hearer,  while  others  have 
been  falsely  interpreted.  Many  Bible-readers  have  been 
either  groping  in  the  dark  or  looking  at  unreal  images. 
The  preacher  is  expected  to  expound  the  true  meaning  of 
and  clear  away  the  mist  from  the  written  word.  Some 
Bible-topics  need  to  be  more  clearly  understood;  others,, 
however  well  understood  by  many,  must  be  explained  and 
re-explained  as  new  hearers  are  added  to  the  congregation 
who  have  never  been  fully  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity. 

Broadus  gives  the  following  judicious  advice  to  inexpe- 
rienced ministers:  Do  not  attempt  to  explain  what  is  not 
assuredly  true,  what  you  do  not  understand,  what  can  not 
be  explained,  what  does  not  need  explanation.^ 

We  will  now  describe  some  of  the  means  to  be  em- 
ployed in  the  process  of  explanation. 

I.  Exegesis.  —  This  is  a  fruitful  source  of  material  for 
the  discussion.  Its  mission  is  to  determine  the  true  mean- 
ing of  the  terms  and  substance  of  the  sacred  text,  and  it  is 
concerned  with  the  interpretation  not  only  of  the  passage 

I  See  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  Uo. 


334  '^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermo7t. 

used  as  the  text  of  discourse,  but  of  all  biblical  references 
and  proof-texts  employed  in  the  discussion.  It  looks  at 
the  text  subjectively,  and  endeavors  to  discover  its  inter- 
nal meaning,  its  literal  and  relative  idea,  as  the  absolute 
truth  or  germ  from  which  the  entire  development  must 
orifirinate.  This  exegetical  explanation  is  an  important 
v^^ork  in  sermonizing,  for  it  brings  to  light  new  and  correct 
ideas  not  always  apparent  in  the  best  translation.  While 
various  meanings  are  assigned  to  the  same  passages  by  dif- 
ferent authorities,  and  some  erroneous  views  arising  from 
early  impressions,  prejudice,  or  habits  of  thought  are  often 
entertained  by  ourselves,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  be 
able  to  investigate  our  biblical  material  in  the  light  of 
independent  exegesis,  and  thus  satisfy  ourselves  as  to  the 
correct  meaning  of  a  passage. 

Such  an  exegesis  can  not  be  secured  except  by  the  under- 
standing and  aid  of  sacred  philology,  archaeology,  her- 
meneutics,  and  common  sense.  The  context,  parallels,  and 
historical  facts  of  the  passages  requiring  exposition,  and 
all  helps  from  whatever  source,  ancient  or  modern,  must 
be  carefully  considered,  as  assisting  us  to  understand  the 
written  word  in  its  true  and  primitive  meaning. 

II.  Definition,  also,  is  necessary  to  clearness  of  thought. 
It  is  that  process  which  separates  in  our  thoughts  an  idea 
from  all  other  ideas.  "  It  marks  the  limits  of  an  idea.  *  *  * 
When  the  idea,  so  to  speak,  is  fortified,  entrenched,  so  that 
on  all  sides  it  repels  ideas  which  would  mix  themselves 
with  it,  the  object  is  defined."  '  Definition  may  cost  severe 
and  unwearied  mental  effort  in  trying  to  penetrate  and 
discriminate  the  object  in  the  mind;  but  clearness,  so  valu- 
able in  a  discussion,  should  always  be  secured  even  at  the 
price  of  the  hardest  toil.  "  Definition  is  not  only  a  means 
of  perspicuity,   an   element   of  instruction,  the   basis   of 

I  Vinot'a  Homiletics,  p.  101. 


Explanation.  335 

argumentation;  it  is  often  tlie  beginning  of  proof;" ^  and 
therefore  it  should  precede  all  other  methods  of  explana- 
tion in  the  order  of  composition.  The  object  must  first 
be  defined  before  we  can  elucidate  it. 

Definition  may  be  either  etymological  or  philosophical. 
The  former  is  concerned  with  the  meaning  of  a  word  as 
aflected  by  its  origin,  history,  and  present  acceptation 
(common  parlance) ;  the  latter,  with  the  meaning,  not  of  a 
word,  but  of  an  idea.  It  is  often  necessary,  after  defining 
a  word  or  sentence  etymologically,  to  also  define  philo- 
sophically the  idea  of  the  definition;  for  the  first  will  clear 
away  the  mist  from  the  language,  while  the  second  will 
remove  the  mist  from  the  thought. 

A  few  hints  of  importance  we  give  from  Yinet:  1. 
^'Avoid  too  subtile  distinctions  and  classifications."  2.  Do 
"  not  seek  to  define  everything ;  "  for  example,  "  ideas 
which  are  too  simple,"  "  ideas  which  instantly  escape,  and 
refuse  definition,  on  account  of  the  elevated  or  purely 
moral  sphere  to  which  they  belong." 

Definition,  in  fact,  need  never  be  employed  unless  it  will 
aid  in  clearing  up  the  thought  we  wish  to  present.  On 
the  one  hand  we  must  not  dodge  difficulties  by  withholding 
definition,  and  on  the  other,  should  not  strain  to  discover 
subtle  distinctions  and  ideas,  lest  we  seem  to  aim  at  a  dis- 
play of  our  learning  instead  of  a  clear  understanding  of 
the  subject  we  treat. 

III.  Narration  is  the  statement  of  facts  connected  with 
an  event,  or  events,  in  their  projDer  order.  The  facts  may 
be  material,  spiritual,  or  even  imaginary,  and  the  order  of 
rehearsal  chronological  or  philosophical.  When  the  nar- 
rative relates  a  series  of  events  that  have  transpired  one 
after  another  in  a  certain  period  of  time,  without  regard 
to  causal  sequence,  it  is  chronological.     Such  was  the  dis- 

X  Vinet's  Homiletics,  p.  164. 


00^ 


TJie  Preacher  anct  His  Sermon. 


course  of  Stepheu,  the  martyr.  (See  Acts  vii.)  "When  the 
facts  are  related  in  the  order  of  cause  aud  effect,  so  as  to 
present  a  bond  of  internal  connection  between  events,  the 
narrative  is  called  philosophical  —  an  example  of  which  is 
seen  in  philosophical  history. 

As  the  same  incident  may  be  used  for  different  objects 
of  discourse,  we  should  select  from  the  narrative  only  such 
facts  as  most  directly  relate  to  that  object.  "  It  is  gener- 
ally better  to  choose  some  one  event  of  the  man's  history, 
or  some  one  trait  of  his  character,  and  narrate  only  what 
bears  upon  that.  In  preaching  upon  the  meekness  of 
Moses,  there  would  be  occasion  to  state  briefly  those 
circumstances  of  his  training  and  career  which  were  par- 
ticularly unfavorable  to  the  development  of  meekness,  and 
then  to  narrate,  with  vivid  touches,  the  leading  instances 
in  which  his  meekness  was  exhibited,  as  well  as  those  in 
which  it  temporarily  failed."  ^  This  will  give  unity  to 
the  narrative  and  freshness  to  the  discourse.  It  should  be 
considered  no  violation  of  unity,  incidentally  to  pause  in 
the  course  of  narration  to  apply  the  moral  lesson  which  a 
certain  fact  therein  may  contain.  This  will  give  interest 
and  vivacity  to  the  narrative,  and  lend  new  beauty  to  a 
scripture  statement  that  may  have  become  antiquated  and 
threadbare  to  our  hearers  on  account  of  its  life-long  famil- 
iarity. Let  all  such  application,  however,  be  very  brief 
and  pointed. 

IV.  Description  is  that  process  of  explanation  which 
represents  a  subject  under  the  relation  of  space. 

Narration  and  description  are  akin  in  respect  to  the 
object  which  they  treat,  but  differ  in  the  mode  of  treating  it. 
The  first  views  it  in  relation  to  time;  the  second,  in  rela- 
tion to  space;  the  first,  as  becoming  or  changing;  the 
second,  as  being  or  existing.   Narration  enumerates  several 

X  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  149. 


Explanation.  337 

connected  incidents;  but  description  may  present  uncon- 
nected, homogeneous  particulars  respecting  some  object. 
A  narration  is  mostly  personal,  respecting  the  actions, 
adventures,  travels,  dangers,  and  escapes  of  some  particular 
person.  A  description  does  not  so  much  embrace  occur- 
rences as  characters,  appearances,  beauties,  defects,  and 
attributes  in  general.  Description  seeks  to  animate  the 
facts  of  past  history  and  render  them  present  to  the  mind 
of  the  auditor  by  a  clear  and  vivid  review  of  the  scene. 
Hence  the  Arabian  proverb,  "He  is  the  best  orator  who 
can  turn  men's  ears  into  eyes,"  is  especially  true  in  respect 
to  description. 

A  preacher  may  increase  his  power  of  graphic  descrip- 
tion,— 

(1.)  By  studying  the  writings  of  such  men  as  were  dis- 
tinguished for  such  power.  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost" 
abounds  with  good  examples. 

(2.)  By  bringing  before  his  mind  a  clear  conception  of 
the  object  he  would  delineate.  "He  who  would  describe 
anything,  must  have  seen  it;  not  necessarily  with  bodily 
vision,  but  with  the  mind's  eye.  =5=  *  ^  *  As  regards  script- 
ure scenes,  there  is  often  need  of  a  familiar  acquaintance 
with  biblical  geography,  and  with  the  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  the  Jews."^ 

Two  extremes  should  be  avoided:  on  the  one  hand,  a 
tame  sketch  of  startling  events,  arising  either  from  a  phleg- 
matic temperament  or  a  lack  of  interest  in  the  subject;  and 
on  the  other,  an  overwrought,  exaggerated  description 
that  borders  on  the  bombastic,  arising  from  a  mere  desire 
of  display.  Fidelity  to  truth,  as  in  everything  else,  should 
here  be  the  golden  mean.  This  does  not  imply  that  we 
may  not  supply,  by  our  imagination,  anything  that  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  history  of  the  subject,  but  that  all  such 

I  Broadus'  Pre-paraUon  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  151. 
22 


338  The  Preacher  mid  His  Se7inon. 

interpolations  be  natural,  and  sucli  as  might  possibly  and 
reasonably  have  occurred  in  conjunction  with  the  recorded 
facts. 

Y.  Illustration  is  the  most  approved  method  of  ex- 
plaining and  clarifying  the  ideas  of  the  discussion.  It  is 
to  the  mind  what  a  picture  is  to  the  eye;  it  attracts  atten- 
tion, and  helps  to  fasten  the  truth  in  the  mind. 

"  The  correspondence  of  the  physical  to  the  moral  world 
is  striking.  ^Nature  is  an  immense  parable,"  ^  and  we  may 
draw  our  illustrations  from  all  sources.  Whately  was  fond 
of  drawing  from  zoology;  James  Hamilton,  from  botany. 

The  most  successful  preachers,  —  such  as  Chrysostom, 
Evans,  Chalmers,  Guthrie,  Todd,  Beecher,  Spurgeon,  Tal- 
mage,  and  Moody, — have  shown  the  force  of  illustration  in 
preaching.  But  the  use  of  illustrations  in  expressing  and 
enforcing  religious  truth  has  a  higher  sanction.  Christ's 
public  discourses  abounded  with  numerous  parables,  figures, 
and  illustrations  drawn  from  familiar  objects.  His  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  is  illustrated  by  the  salt,  the  candle,  the  city 
on  the  hill,  the  fowls  of  the  air,  the  lilies  of  the  field,  the 
house  built  on  the  sand;  and  scarcely  ever  did  he  speak 
without  a  parable  or  an  illustration. 

Illustration  is  to  be  recommended  for  the  following 
reasons: 

(1.)  It  secures  attention.  Everybody  will  listen  to  a 
familiar  example,  no  matter  how  indifierent  they  may  seem 
to  every  other  part  of  the  sermon.  A  sermon  well  illus- 
trated is  never  dull. 

(2.)  It  assists  the  memory.  It  is  the  salt  that  preserves 
in  the  mind  of  the  hearers  what  otherwise  would  soon  be 
forgotten.  It  is  the  nail  that  fastens  the  truth  in  the  heart; 
and  this  is  an  important  function  of  its  use. 

(3.)     It  affords  variety  in  methods  of  presenting  truth. 

I  Vinet's  Homilelics,  p.  90. 


Explanation.  339 

Thougli  our  theme  be  always  the  same  oft-repeated  story 
of  salvation,  yet  it  continues  new  and  fresh  by  being  pre- 
sented and  illustrated  in  various  ways.  The  cakes  on  the 
table  of  shew-bread  were  all  baked  out  of  the  same  fine 
flour,  but  they  were  removed  and  replaced  by  newly-baked 
loaves  every  Sabbath.  A  preacher,  by  the  aid  of  an  endless 
variety  of  illustration,  may  bring  before  his  congrega- 
tion every  Sunday  a  fresh  morsel  from  the  same  unchang- 
ing Bread  of  Life.  Here  is  an  anomaly,  but  it  is  the  life 
and  power  of  preaching;  namely,  that  it  is  diflferent  and 
yet  always  the  same. 

(4.)  It  is  suited  to  all  classes  of  hearers.  "  Some  parts 
of  a  discourse  may  be  adapted  to  one  class  and  some  to 
another,  but  the  illustrations  are  for  all.  They  are  the 
pictures  of  spoken  instruction,"^  and  are  equally  under- 
stood by  child  and  philosopher.  Everybody  is  to  be  bene- 
fited by  the  sermon;  and  it  should  be  the  aim  of  every 
preacher  to  be  understood  by  the  greatest  possible  number 
of  his  listeners.    Illustration  will  help  to  secure  this  end. 

(5.)  It  renders  complex  and  difficult  subjects  easy. 
Beecher  says,  "  An  illustration  is  a  window  in  an  argu- 
ment, and  lets  in  light."  While  it  gives  light  on  the 
subject,  it  also  afibrds  rest  to  the  hearer's  mind,  and  affords 
opportunity  to  reflect  and  fix  the  argument  in  mind.  A 
Moses  may  rapidly  lead  his  people  up  a  steep  and  rugged 
road;  but  some  of  his  band,  who  may  not  be  accustomed 
to  such  marching,  will  soon  cease  to  follow,  unless  he  gives 
them  some  time  to  rest  their  weary  limbs  while  gazing  at 
a  landscape  here  and  there  by  the  way. 

The  habit  of  illustrating  is  entirely  natural  to  some, 
while  others  must  acquire  it.  This  can  be  done  by  culti- 
vating a  habit  of  observation.  The  preacher  must  keep  his 
eyes  open,  and  be  interested  in  things  around   him,  and 

I  Blaikie,  p.  92. 


340  The  Pi-eacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

make  sermons  out  of  everything.  He  should  also  acquire 
an  extensive  knowledge  of  literature,  and  if  not  gifted 
with  a  retentive  memory,  write  down  whatever  may  be 
thus  acquired;  and  especially  does  he  need  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  example  which  he  uses  to  illustrate 
an  idea. 

To  collect  a  number  of  examples  and  build  a  sermon 
around  them  is  an  abuse  of  the  illustrative  art.  An  illus- 
tration must  be  used  to  clear  a  thought,  not  to  cloud  it.  It 
"  ought  always  to  be  transparent,  never  opaque.  It  ought 
to  make  what  is  on  the  other  side  of  it  more  clear,  but 
never  hide  it."  Sometimes  by  elaborating  and  unduly 
lengthening  an  illustration,  we  draw  the  hearer's  mind 
away  from  the  truth  and  cause  him  to  remember  nothing 
but  the  illustration.  This  is  a  mistake  which  must  be 
strictly  avoided,  and  which  may  eiiect  the  very  opposite  of 
that  for  which  the  illustration  was  intended.  ^ 

In  the  discussion  of  a  subject  we  may  use  other  means 
of  explanation,  such  as  hypothesis,  exemplification,  com- 
parison, and  contrast;  but  all  these,  together  with  those 
treated  above,  are  but  means,  and  of  themselves  do  not 
constitute  a  sermon.  The  workman  will  at  once  see  the 
difference  between  his  tools  and  his  work,  and  know  when 
and  how  to  use  them.  The  processes,  or  tools,  of  expla- 
nation being  at  hand,  one  must  learn  to  manipulate,  which 
is  a  trade  of  its  own  kind,  and  requires  separate  practice 
and  skill  in  order  that  proficiency  in  it  may  be  attained. 

I  The  story  of  the  Spanish  painter  of  the  Lord's  Supper  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
tendency  of  elaborate  iliUstralions.  It  was  his  object  to  throw  all  the  sublimity  of  his 
art  into  the  figure  and  countenance  of  the  Savior;  but  on  the  table,  in  the  forei,'round  of 
the  picture,  he  painted  some  chaste  cups,  so  exceedingly  beautiful  and  so  skillfully 
painted  tliat  the  attention  of  all  who  called  to  see  the  picture  was  at  once  attracted  to  th** 
cups,  and  every  one  was  loud  in  their  praise.  The  painter,  observing  this,  saw  that  ho 
had  failed  in  his  design  of  directing  attention  to  the  principal  object  in  the  i)icture,  and 
exclaiming,  "  1  have  made  a  mistake,  for  these  cups  divert  the  eyes  of  the  spectator  fro  no 
the  Master,"  he  immediately  seized  bis  brush  aud  dashed  them  from  the  caavas.  Sea 
Kidder's  HrnnUetica,  pp.  252,  263. 


Conviction.  341 

§   V.      CONVICTION. 

Conviction  is  the  act  of  removing  doubt  and  establishing 
a  truth  in  the  mind  by  the  aid  of  proof.  Explanation 
explains,  makes  an  idea  stand  out  clearly  and  conspicu- 
ously; but  the  mind  may  not  accept  an  idea  thus  exhibited. 
There  may  exist  some  repugnance  to  or  total  rejection  of 
the  idea  explained;  and  to  stop  here  would  defeat  the 
object  of  the  preacher.  He  must  make  people  believe  what 
he  says.  This  can  be  done,  first,  by  a  positive  conviction 
in  his  own  mind  as  to  the  truth;  and  second,  by  a  masterly 
presentation  of  the  proofs  of  the  truth,  by  which  the  con- 
viction in  the  ,mind  of  the  speaker  is  transferred  to  the 
mind  of  the  hearer.  Hence  to  bring  conviction  to  the  mind 
should  be  the  burden  of  every  sermon.  Men  are  conquered 
before  an  array  of  powerful  arguments,  and  carried  away 
irresistibly  by  the  tide  of  accumulated  evidence.  They 
may  soon  recover  from  the  eifects  of  eloquence,  for  emo- 
tions will  pass  away  like  the  early  dew  and  morning  cloud; 
but  sound  reasoning  will  produce  a  conviction  from  which 
men  can  never  be  absolved.  It  is  the  hammer  that  strikes 
to  pieces  the  doubts  of  unbelievers,  and  builds  up  the  faith 
of  Christians.  When  Paul  reasoned  of  righteousness,  tem- 
perance, and  judgment  to  come,  Felix  trembled.  Every 
sermon  should  be  such  a  weight  of  solid  argument  that 
when  brought  to  bear  upon  men's  minds  it  will  cause  them 
to  totter  and  tremble. 

The  following  extracts  from  Hoppin  on  the  use  of  rea- 
soning are  timely:  "He  [the  preacher]  should  understand 
the  laws  of  reasoning,  by  which,  whether  through  the  briefer 
method  of  inference,  or  the  more  complex  one  of  syllogistic 
reasoning,  certain  products  are  reached.  Thought,  while 
free,  yet  has  its  laws,  which  are  as  invariable  as  the  laws 
of  the  physical  world."    "  Great  preachers  have  been  great 


342  The  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

reasoners;  not,  perhaps,  all  of  them,  in  the  scientific  meth- 
ods of  strict  logic,  but  in  the  clear  development  of  the 
foundation  principles  of  doctrine,  and  in  that  method  of 
persuasion  which  the  heart  teaches  to  the  true  preacher. 
Jonathan  Edwards  reasoned  so  forcibly  that  his  hearers 
thought  God  was  speaking  to  them  through  him,  a<, 
indeed,  he  was;  for  he  grasped  fundamental  principles,  and 
80  entered  into  them,  that  while  he  himself  was  hidden,  he 
shook  the  consciences  of  men  by  the  pure  power  of  truth." 
"Plain,  sensible,  and  comprehensive  reasoning,  without 
the  pedantry  of  the  logician,  or  the  hardness  of  the  meta- 
physician, always  has  power  with  the  great  mass  of 
common  sense,  intelligent  hearers.  A  sermon  which  has 
nothing  of  this  element  of  thoughtful  argumentation  in  it 
rarely  makes  an  enduring  impression,  because  it  does  not 
reach  the  depths  of  the  subject,  or  the  depths  of  the  mind. 
It  ruffles  the  top  waves;  it  does  not  go  down  into  the 
springs  of  thought  or  motive." 

The  Apodixis  Biblica  (an  appeal  to  scripture)  is  the 
highest  form  of  proof  that  a  minister  can  employ  in  the 
pulpit.  Many  doctrines  need  only  to  be  stated  and  im- 
pressed on  the  mind,  without  attempting  any  proof.  The 
"  thus  saith  the  Lord  "  ought  to  be  sufficient  proof,  putting 
to  silence  all  foolish  questions  and  petty  doubtings;  for  the 
word  and  testimony  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  are  above 
human  reason.  The  dicta  prohantia  (proof-texts)  should 
constitute  the  principal  proof.  Our  assurance  in  divine 
truth  rests  on  the  authority  of  God,  since  he  alone  has 
the  right  to  be  believed  on  the  strength  of  his  unimpeach- 
able character  and  the  infallibility  of  the  divine  counsel  as 
compared  with  the  fallibility  of  human  reason.  The  pro- 
founder  our  faith  in  God,  the  more  powerful  and  convinc- 
ing will  be  our  preaching.  As  heralds  of  the  Holy  Oracle, 
we  are  invested  with  an  authority  which  demands  from 


Conviction.  343 

the  hearers  confidence  in  the  message — "the  sure  word  of 
promise"  which  we  deliver.  "These  things  speak,  and 
exhort,  and  rebuke  with  all  authority."     (Titus  ii.  15.) 

But  "  the  testimony  of  scripture  must  he  enforced  and 
strengthened  by  every  means  in  our  power.  *  *  *  *  And 
this  introduces  us  to  nearly  all  the  topics  and  modes  of 
argument  which  are  common  to  other  rhetoricians.  Still, 
there  are  some  more  applicable  to  the  pulpit  than  others, 
and  some  which  are  altogether  inapplicable."  ^  We  speak 
of  those  of  most  importance. 

1.  A  jpriori  method.  —  This  argument  was  given  specific 
form  by  Anselm,  of  the  eleventh  century.  "Whately  thinks 
this  is  the  er/oc  of  Aristotle,  which,  for  want  of  a  better 
term,  has  been  generally  translated  "probability,"  but  as 
he  classes  it  under  necessary  premises  it  certainly  resem- 
bles Anselm's  argument.  "What  is  a  proof  a 'priori'?  To 
answer  clearly  we  must  first  know  what  is  an  a  jpriori  truth. 
It  is  a  necessary  truth  which  is  not  the  result  of  sense  or 
experience,  but  is  'primordial  and  intuitive  —  a  principle  that 
is  self-evident  and  original,  necessar'y  and  universal.  Thus, 
all  mathematical  and  philosophical  axioms,  such  as  "  The 
whole  is  greater  than  any  of  its  parts,"  "The  same  can 
not  be  and  not  be  at  the  same  time,"  are  a  priori  cognitions, 
acknowledged  by  all  as  necessary,  even  by  John  Stuart 
Mill,  and  other  opponents  of  the  intuitional  school  of  phi- 
losophy. They  are  called  a  priori,  not  because  acquired  first 
in  the  order  of  time,^  but  because  they  stand  first  "in  the 
order  of  rational  or  logical  importance.  Hence  they  are 
called  first  principles:  principles  or  truths  a  priori,  as  op- 
posed to  knowledge  a  posteriori.^'  ^ 

l^ow,  what  is  an  a  priori  argument?     It  is  one  that  pro- 

1  Gresley's  Treatise  on  Preaching,  Letter  ix. 

3  Porter  says,  "  they  are  the  last  which  are  reached,  and  by  only  a  few  of  the  race  ar« 
ever  reached  at  all." — Human  Intellect,  p.  502. 
3  Porter's  Human  Intellect,  p.  502. 


344  1^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

ceeds  from  canst  to  effect.  In  a  general  sense  it  is  "  appli- 
cable to  any  case  of  proper  physical  causes,  but  is  chiefly 
applied  to  argument  from  a  necessary  principle" — from 
first  principles  imbedded  in  the  mind  to  those  which  neces- 
sarily result  therefrom.  Thus,  we  prove  a  priori  that  sin  ia 
offensive  to  God  from  the  necessary  idea  of  God's  holiness. 
Anselm  argues  the  existence  of  God  from  our  necessary 
idea  of  the  most  perfect  being  conceivable.  The  objective 
reality  of  such  a  being  is  greater  than  the  subjective  idea. 
Hence  such  a  being  must  exist,  for  existence  is  included  in 
the  very  idea  of  perfection;  and  to  admit  his  non-existence 
is  contradictory  to  the  idea  of  his  perfection.  The  last 
step  is,  that  necessary  existence  implies  actual  existence.^ 

"The  conclusion  from  an  a  priori  argument  (supposing 
it  logically  conducted)  will  be  certain,  if  on  the  one  hand 
the  supposed  cause  is  a  real  one,  and  on  the  other  hand, 
there  is  nothing  to  interfere  with  its  operation;  but  if  the 
reality  of  the  cause  (or  necessary  principle)  be  subject  to 
question,  or  its  operations  be  liable  to  interference,  then 
the  conclusion  is  only  more  or  less  probable."^ 

2.  A  posteriori  method. — This  is  the  opposite  of  the  a  pri- 
ori, and  proceeds  from  effect  to  cause,  or  from  knowledge 
and  consequences,  whether  physical  or  otherwise,  to  their 
proper  necessary  principles.  It  is  a  far  more  convincing 
and  less  abstruse  mode  of  argument  than  the  a  priori.  It 
admits  of  great  elaboration,  and  may  embrace  the  universe 
of  things  and  events.  It  was  introduced  by  heathen  phi- 
losophers before  the  Christian  era,  and  is  largely  used  in 
modern  science,  as  well  as  by  theologians  of  the  present 
day,  in  presenting  the  evidences  of  a  divine  Being.  This 
method  may  easily  be  confounded  with  the  a  priori.  Thus, 
Descartes,  in  his  cogito,  ergo  sum,  begins  with  the  a  priori, 

I  SeeShedd's  History  of  Christian  Doctnne,  Vol.  I.,  p.  231;  also,  Knapp's  Theology,  p. 
86;  Sodge's  Systematic  Theology,  Vol.  I.,  p.  2(H. 

a  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  175. 


Conviction,  345 

•but  bases  his  argument  in  the  law  of  causation,  and  there- 
fore drops  into  the  a  'posteriori  method.  Samuel  Clarke,  in 
his  celebrated  "  Demonstration  of  the  Being  and  Attributes 
■of  God,"  begins  in  the  a  jpriori,  but  ends  in  the  a  'posteriori. 

In  order  to  understand  the  difi'erence  between  the  two 
methods,  we  will  observe  how  the  existence  of  a  God  is 
shown  by  the  a  posteriori  method.  We  here  start  from 
the  existence  of  well  known  facts  around  us,  and  according 
to  the  law  of  causation  endeavor  to  find  an  ultimate  cause, 
having  forward  relations  to  efiect,  but  no  backward  rela- 
tions to  cause.  According  to  the  most  recent  science,  all 
animal  and  vegetable  life  had  a  beginning,  and  hence  there 
was  a  time  when  such  life  did  not  exist.  All  these  visible 
effects  must  have  an  adequate  cause;  and  such  cause  can, 
consistently,  be  found  nowhere  except  in  the  existence  of 
an  eternal,  self-suflicient,  personal  God.  Here  we  reach 
the  same  conclusion  as  in  the  a  priori  method,  but  in  a 
different  way. 

3.  A  fortiori  method.  —  "The  argument  a  fortiori  (from 
stronger  grounds),  shows  that  something  is  true  in  a  less 
probable  case,  real  or  supposed,  and  then  insists  that  much 
more  certainly  must  it  be  true  in  a  more  probable  case."  ^ 
Thus,  Christ  argued  in  the  a  fortiori  method,  on  God's  will- 
ingness to  answer  prayer,  when  he  said,  "  If  ye  then,  being 
evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children;  how 
much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him?"  (Luke  xi.  13.)  Paul  ar- 
gues similarly:  "For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats, 
and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanctifieth 
to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh;  how  much  more  shall  the 
blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered 
himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge  your  conscience  from 
dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God?"     (Heb.  ix.  13,  14.) 

I  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sei'tnons,  p.  195. 


34^  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

The  Scriptures  abound  with  this  mode  of  reasoning.  See 
Romans  viii.  32;  Luke  xxiii.  31;  I.  Peter  iv.  17,  18;  He- 
brews ii.  2-4,  xii.  25,  etc. 

4.  Experience. — This  might  be  treated  under  Induction, 
but  as  it  is  narrower  in  its  range  than  induction,  inasmuch 
as  it  pertains  to  only  one  individual  being,  we  prefer  to 
give  it  a  separate  treatment. 

"  Strictly  speaking,  we  know  by  experience  only  the  past, 
and  what  has  passed  under  our  own  observation."'  But 
then,  unlike  the  other  arguments,  experience  enters  more  or 
less  into  all  facts  and  subjects,  in  proportion  as  man's  life 
comes  in  contact  with  the  natural  and  spiritual  world.  It 
is  the  most  accessible  and  familiar  argument,  but  may  be 
unreliable  and  unsatisfactory  to  others;  for  what  is  evident 
to  us  may  not  be  so  to  all,  unless  there  be  a  common  expe- 
rience. Hence,  to  make  a  criterion  we  must  observe  that 
"  our  experience  is  either  uniform  or  various.  In  the  one 
case,  provided  the  facts  on  which  it  is  founded  be  suffi- 
ciently numerous,  the  conclusion  is  said  to  be  morally 
certain.  In  the  other,  the  conclusion  built  ou  the  greater 
number  of  instances  is  said  to  be  probable,  and  more  or 
less  so  according  to  the  proportion  which  the  instances  on 
that  side  bear  to  those  on  the  opposite."  ^  Thus,  I  am  sure 
that  a  body  when  unsupported  will  drop  to  the  earth,  be- 
cause of  my  frequent  and  uniform  observation  of  the  fact. 
That  God  will  answer  prayer  immediately  may  be  proba- 
ble, if  in  our  experience  he  has  done  so  oftener  than  the 
contrary;  that  he  will  answer  sometime  is  more  probable, 
but  not  certain,  for  we  remember  instances  in  which  to  our 
knowledge  no  answer  has  ever  been  received;  that  he  will 
answer  prayer  offered  in  accordance  with  his  will  at  some- 
time is  still  more  probable  because  of  a  greater  uniformity 
of  instances  in  our  history. 

I  Whatcly's  Rhetoric,  Part  I.,  Chap,  ii.,  g  7 
a  Campbell'8  Philosophy  of  lihetoric,  p.  72. 


Convictio7t.  347 

An  argument  derived  from  our  own  experience  often  has 
great  weight  on  the  minds  of  others.  Paul,  who  suffered 
affliction,  distress,  imprisonment,  labor,  dishonor,  scourg- 
ing, stoning,  shipwreck,  and  all  manner  of  bereavements 
and  losses,  concludes  that  "  all  things  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  the  Lord."  How  many  afflicted 
Christians  have  secured  comfort  from  this  universal  law  of 
Providence  proclaimed  by  Paul,  who  discovered  it  by  his 
own  experience! 

The  certainty  of  an  argument  derived  from  our  uniform 
experience  depends  on  the  number  of  experiments.  The 
coincidence  of  a  few  observations  might  be  accidental,  and 
this  has  often  led  to  superstition.^ 

5.  Testimony. — This  is  the  declaration  of  a  witness  as  to 
matters  oi  fact.  Experience  is  the  source  of  philosophy, 
but  testimony  is  the  source  of  history.  Much  of  our  me- 
diate knowledge  is  based  on  testimony,  which,  if  trust- 
worthy, affords  as  great  certainty  as  man  can  ordinarily 
have  in  this  life.  "  We  are  so  constituted  as  to  be  inclined 
to  believe  testimony,  and  it  is  only  when  the  incredibility 
of  the  witness  has  been  ascertained  by  sufficient  evidence, 
that  we  refuse  our  assent."  ^ 

To  properly  estimate  the  weight  of  testimony  we  must 
regard : 

(1.)  The  witnesses,  {a.)  Their  number.  The  greater  the 
number  the  stronger  the  evidence,  provided  they  concur  in 
the  fact  testified.  Thus,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is 
proved  by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  many  witnesses. 
The  alleged  contradictions  in  the  narratives  of  the  resur- 
rection ^  are  not  contradictions  of  facts,  but  variations  of 

1  A  man  affirms  that  three  successive  times  he  took  a  journey  on  a  Friday,  and  in 
each  case  he  met  with  an  accident ;  it  is  therefore  clear  that  Friday  is  an  unlucky  day. 
The  ancient  Greeks  supposed  their  deity  dwelt  at  Delphi  because  a  few  men  on  approaoh- 
ing  the  place  were  seized  with  a  singular  paroxysm  of  shivering  and  jumping. 

2  Haven's  Mental  Philosophy,  p.  192. 

3  See  Strauss'  lAfe  of  Christ. 


348  The  Preacher  ajid  His  Sermon. 

statements.^  (6.)  Their  character.  Testimony  will  be  con- 
vincing according  to  the  knowledge,  sincerity,  and  veracity 
of  the  witnesses.  When  there  is  no  motive  for  deception, 
and  no  previous  concert,  and  when  there  is  opportunity 
and  ability  of  knowing  the  facts  certified,  we  may  repose 
credibility  in  their  testimony.  Such  was  the  character  of 
the  witnesses  of  Christ's  resurrection  and  his  miracles. 

(2.)  The  nature  of  the  facts  attested.  There  are  some 
facts  which  no  number  of  witnesses,  however  trustworthy, 
could  verify  by  mere  testimony,  for  it  is  possible  for  falHble 
man  to  be  deceived.  Our  sense  of  sight  would  invariably 
assert  that  a  straight  stick  in  water  is  crooked,  and  this 
delusion  must  be  corrected  by  our  judgment  of  the  nature 
of  the  case.  No  amount  of  testimony  could  prove  the 
claims  of  Spiritualism,  on  account  of  the  many  things  that 
oppose  the  pretension.  So,  again,  there  are  some  facts  so 
evident,  and  so  thoroughly  established  by  other  evidences, 
that  they  would  remain  unafiected  even  though  the  wit- 
nesses were  of  such  a  character  as  to  merit  no  credence  at 
all.  Such  is  the  case  with  Christ's  resurrection  and  mira- 
cles. Had  the  apostles  been  wicked  men,  whose  only 
motive  was  to  deceive,  the  fact  they  assert  would  still  be 
certain,  for  to  reject  their  testimony  would  thrust  upon  us 
a  greater  miracle  than  the  truth  of  their  assertion.^ 

6.  Induction. —  This  is  the  most  general  method  of  rea- 
soning. Every  process  of  deriving  general  truths  from 
particulars  is  called  induction.  We  observe  in  a  number 
of  individual  objects  that  they  all  possess  some  common 
characteristic,  and  therefore  conclude  that  this  character- 
istic belon2:s  to  them  all  as  a  class.  We  need  not  examine 
every  particular  object  belonging  to  the  class  in  order  to 
draw  a  correct  conclusion.     "If  induction,"  says  Galileo, 

1  Of.  Cliristlieb's  Modem  Doitht  and  Christian  Belief,  Lecture  vii.,  p.  468  fif. 
a  Cf.  Broftdus'  Preparation  and  Ddivery  of  SemMns,  pp.  180-184. 


Conviction,  349 

"must  go  througli  every  individual  instance,  it  would  be 
either  useless  or  impossible;  impossible  if  the  number  of 
cases  were  infinite;  useless,  because  then  the  universal 
proposition  would  add  nothing  new  to  our  knowledge."^ 
On  what  ground,  then,  may  we  draw  a  general  conclu- 
sion? Surely  not  because  what  is  true  of  the  objects  sepa- 
rately considered  is  true  of  them  all  when  taken  together, 
but  because  the  few  examined  justly  represent  the  many, 
and  are  a  fair  specimen  or  example  of  the  whole.  An 
infidel  ca viler  finds  in  the  Scriptures  a  few  of  what  he  calls 
"indelicacies,"  and  hence  denounces  the  Bible  as  an  im- 
moral book.  He  observes  the  inconsistencies  of  many 
nominal  Christians,  and  hence  concludes  that  Christianity 
is  a  system  of  hypocrisy.  Sometimes  a  few  examples,  if 
not  imaginary  but  real,  will  be  sufiicient  data  for  a  correct 
generalization.  In  studying  the  teachings  and  lives  of 
such  men  as  Abraham  and  Paul,  I  learn  that  faith  is 
essential  to  salvation.  This  is  a  proper  induction  or  in- 
ference, because  they  (Abraham  and  Paul)  are  true  repre- 
sentatives of  the  two  dispensations  (of  saving  grace). 

This  argument  is  much  used  in  our  human  experience, 
and  the  lessons  we  have  learned  in  the  past  through  its  aid 
have  given  us  wisdom  for  the  future,  We  do  not  care  to 
convince  men  that  arsenic  will  destroy  life,  by  trying  the 
experiment  before  them.  So  we  have  learned  by  past 
experiment  what  habits  or  acts  to  avoid  in  order  to  be 
happy;  and  the  rules  of  conduct  derived  from  past  experi- 
ence are  of  great  value  to  us  to-day,  and  will  be  for  the 
future. 

7.  Deduction. —  Deduction  is  the  reverse  of  induction, 
8S  <z  priori  is  the  reverse  of  a  j)osteriori.  It  derives  partic- 
ular truths  from  those  which  are  general.  It  is  the 
syllogistic  mode  of  reasoning,  based  upon  the  dictum  of 

z  Apelt.     Theorie  der  Induction,  Leipzig,  1854,  p.  142. 


350  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Aristotle,  that  whatever  is  predicated   of  a  class  may  be 
predicated  of  every  individual  of  the  class.^ 

In  preaching  we  do  not  use  the  formal  syllogism,  but 
rather  its  abbreviated  form,  known  as  the  enthymerae.  We 
may  prove  that  John  the  Baptist  was  a  priest  because  he 
was  the  son  of  a  priest;  or,  again,  suppressing  the  premise 
which  is  plain  to  all,  we  may  assert  that  he  was  a  priest 
because  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  we  learn  that  the 
sons  of  priests  were  themselves  priests.  "We  must,  how- 
ever, use  sound  judgment  in  this  mode  of  arguing.  ""We 
can  very  seldom  take  a  general  truth  and  make  a  series  of 
deductions  from  it  as  is  done  in  geometry,  and  feel  safe  as  to 
the  results.  *  *  *  *  The  idea  of  establishing  some  truth  of 
religion  by  'a  perfect  demonstration'  is  commonly  delusive. 
Human  life  is  not  really  controlled  by  demonstrated  truth, 
as  to  this  world  or  the  next.  We  must  be  content  with 
those  practical  certainties  which  the  conditions  of  existence 
allow  us  to  attain;  and  while  constantly  drawing  infer- 
ences, as  it  is  right  we  should  do,  must  be  content  to  com- 
pare them  with  fact  and  scripture,  to  make  sure  that  they 
are  correct."* 

§    VI.      REFUTATION. 

Refutation  is  not  proof,  but  counter-proof,  used  in  the 
overthrow  of  objections.  Our  work  is  not  done  when  we 
think  we  have  sufficiently  proved  a  doctrine;  we  must 
remember  that  men  will  object  to  almost  everything. 
"  There  are  objections  to  a  'plenum,  and  objections  to  a 
vacuum;  yet  one  or  the  other  must  be  true."^  And  as  the 
mind  is  not  willing  to  accept  a  proposition,  however  well 
supported  by  affirmative  arguments,  until  its  prejudice  or 

1  The  original  passage  of  Aristotle,  upon  which  this  doctrine  is  founded,  is  'Oaa  Kara 

ToO   KaTT/yopou/xefou  Ae'ycTat,  Trdvra  Kai  Kara  toO  UTroKei/xeVou   pT^^ijo'erak  — See    Porter'S 

Euman  Intellect,  p.  44G. 

2  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Semiont,  pp.  194,  195. 

3  Dr.  Jolinson. 


Refutation.  351 

objections  to  it  are  removed,  we  must  often  meet  our 
opponent  on  his  own  ground  and  despoil  him  of  his  weap- 
ons. If  our  only  object  were  to  remove  his  opposition  to 
truth,  we  might  consider  our  work  accomplished  when  we 
have  answered  all  his  objections;  but  our  great  aim  should 
be,  not  only  to  make  him  surrender  his  position,  but  to 
bring  him  over  to  our  side,  —  \.o  convert  him  from  "the 
error  of  his  way,"  so  as  to  make  him  an  advocate  of  the 
truth.  This  can  only  be  done  by  "  affirmative  and  negative 
argumentation  "  ^  combined. 

I.  'Relative  Value  of  Affirmative  and  Negative  Argumen- 
tation. 

Positive  proof  is  worth  more  than  refutation.  "  Strictly, 
he  who  has  proved,  has  done  everything;  he  is  not  obliged 
to  refute  objections,"^  It  is  more  important  that  he  should 
give  assurance  of  the  truth,  and  "a  reason  of  the  hope 
that  is  in  "  us,  than  to  try  to  demolish  the  Fata  Mor- 
gana^ of  some  delusive  theory.  We  should  not  notice 
trifling  objections,  or  heresies  that  are  unknown  to  our 
hearers.  "  Never  raise  an  old  heresy  from  the  grave  where 
it  has  slept  quietly  for  centuries."*  When  informed  of 
the  objections,  our  hearers  will  too  often  remember  the 
objections  and  forget  the  refutation.  One  discussion  con- 
structed out  of  solid  proof  is  worth  more  than  half  a  dozen 
logical  skirmishes  against  an  enemy.  The  former  is  a 
monument,  a  tower  of  strength,  a  proof  against  opposing 
storm;  but  the  latter  is  a  wrestling  with  a  combatant  that 
may  result  in  our  confusion. 

While  it  is  better  to  build  a  good  fort  than  to  defend  a 
poor  one,  still,  as  Yinet  says,  "  Proof  often  needs  refutation 
as  a  supplement,  and  even  as  a  complement.  It  often  hap- 
pens that  a  mere  refutation  becomes  proof  in  the  soul  of 

I  Vinet's  Uomiletics.  2  Ib%d.,  p.  178. 

3  Fantastic  atmospheric  phenomena  along  the  coast  of  Sioily. 

4  vafBsley'b  Treatise  on  Preaching,  p.  237,  quoted  from  Whately. 


352  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

the  hearer;  "^  for  since  many  religious  truths  are  incapa- 
ble of  proof,  refutation  of  all  objections  against  them  will 
be  necessary  to  establish  our  faith. 

Three  things  are  necessary  before  we  undertake  refuta- 
tion. First,  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  objection 
itself;  for  how  can  we  meet  an  objector  unless  we  clearly 
understand  his  position?  Second,  a  fair  statement  of  the 
objection,  so  that  the  objector  can  say,  "That  is  exactly 
my  objection."  Third,  ability  to  answer  the  objection 
satisfactorily.  "Without  these  three  requisites  on  the  part 
of  the  preacher,  every  attempt  to  refute  will  be  futile, — a 
beating  of  the  air.  Everything  should  be  done  in  fair- 
ness, or  our  hearers  will  lose  confidence  in  the  validity  of 
our  positive  proofs. 

II.     Modes  of  Befutation. 

1.  By  proving  the  contradictory.  This  in  form  would 
really  be  an  aflirmative  argument;  but  as  its  effect  is  to- 
overthrow  objections  and  establish  a  proposition  with  one 
stroke,  we  may  classify  it  under  refutation  as  one  of  its 
most  efl'ectual  modes. 

2.  By  showing  the  fallacy  of  the  argument  by  which  the 
objection  is  supported,  which  may  lie  either  in  erroneous 
premises  or  erroneous  conclusions.  The  enemies  of  Christ 
bribed  the  soldiers  to  use  this  argument  against  his  resur- 
rection: We  slept;  while  we  slept  the  disciples  stole  his 
body;  therefore,  he  did  not  rise  by  his  own  power.  Here 
the  first  premise,  "We  slept,"  is  incorrect,  for  it  is  not 
likely  that  a  guard  of  sixty  would  all  fall  asleep,  when  the 
penalty  to  which  a  sentinel  was  liable  for  sleeping  at  his 
post  was  death.  Besides,  it  would  be  a  deep  sleep  that 
could  not  be  disturbed  by  an  earthquake,  such  as  oc- 
curred when  Christ  arose.  The  second  premise,  "While 
we  slept  his  disciples  stole   him,"  is  equally  false;  for  if 

I  Homilelia,  p.  178, 


Refutation,  353 

they  sleipt  how  could  they  testify  as  to  what  occurred 
during  that  time?  "Sleeping  witnesses!  They  could 
not  know  that  it  was  stolen,  or  if  it  was,  by  whom."  But 
even  if  the  two  premises  were  correct,  the  conclusion 
would  not  follow,  for  there  is  no  logical  deduction. 
They  introduce  a  term  into  the  conclusion  which  is  not 
to  be  found  in  any  of  the  premises;  namely,  the  idea  ot 
a  resurrection.  For  if  they  did  steal  him  from  the  grave 
they  could  not  raise  him  to  life  and  give  him  an  existence 
of  forty  days  on  earth,  which  is  a  thing  quite  distinct 
from .  stealing.  Any  other  conclusion  might  as  well 
follow  from  such  propositions  as  those  uttered  by  the 
soldiers.  This  error  is  sometimes  called  "  a  leap  in  logic," 
or  saltus. 

3.  By  the  argumentum  ad  hominem — "  argument  to  the 
man."  Here  we  begin  with  a  principle  conceded  by  the 
objector,  which,  however,  might  not  be  admitted  by  man- 
kind generally.  See  example  of  this  refutation  in  Matthew 
xii.  27.  Here  the  Pharisees  were  caught  in  their  own 
argument,  and  put  to  silence;  for  they  must  either  give  up 
their  accusation,  or  admit  that  they  themselves  cast  out 
devils  through  the  prince  of  devils.  See,  also.  Acts  xix. 
13,  14. 

Vinet  regards  the  parable  as  a  form  of  the  argumentum 
ad  hominem. 
Somewhat  similar  to  this  is  the  reductio  ad  absurdum. 

4.  By  Analogy.  This,  according  to  Aristotle,  is  "re- 
semblance of  ratios  "  {Aoycov  b/uowT/^:;).  It  is  not  a  resem- 
blance of  objects,  but  of  their  relations.  Things  may 
be  alike  without  being  analogous,  and  vice  versa.  Thus, 
though  a  man  resembles  his  picture,  whether  on  canvas 
or  in  marble,  yet  there  is  a  great  diversity  of  properties 
and  no  similarity  of  relations  between  the  two  objects 
in  respect  to  any  quality.      On  the  other  hand,  "an  egg 


354  '^^^^  Pj'eacher  ajid  His  Scnnon. 

and  a  seed  are  not  in  themselves  alike,  but  bear  a  like  re- 
lation, to  the  parent  bird  and  to  her  future  nestling,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  to  the  old  and  young  plant  on  the  other, 
respectively."  ^  "The  point  to  be  guarded  is,  never  to  say 
there  is  an  analogy  between  objects,  unless  there  is  a 
correspondence  (identity  or  similarity)  in  their  relations  to 
something  else,  however  like  or  however  unlike  the  objects 
themselves  may  be."^ 

This  argument  may  be  abused  by  carrying  the  analogy 
too  far.  It  never  amounts  to  positive  proof,  but  is  used  in 
silencing  objections,  and  in  the  hands  of  Bishop  Butler 
became  a  powerful  weapon  in  refuting  the  cavils  of  infi- 
delity. 

5.  By  Irony.  This  consists  in  admitting  the  premise 
or  conclusion  which  is  to  be  disproved,  and  building  upon 
it  such  other  conclusions  as  w^ould  be  ridiculous.  Irony 
should  be  used  sparingly  and  prudently  in  the  pulpit,  as  it 
is  incompatible  with  sober  reasoning;  but  it  is  often  used 
efi'ectually  in  reproving  vice  and  folly  by  rendering  them 
ridiculous.  See  examples  of  this  in  scripture  (I.  Kings, 
xxii.  15,  Eccles.  xi.  9). 

III.     Arrangement  of  Refutation. 

Hoppin,  in  his  late  work  on  homiletics,  thinks  that 
refutation  "  should  generally  be  in  the  first  part  of  the 
body  of  the  discourse,  because  the  last  words  should  be 
the  strongest,  and  should  leave  a  positive  impression." 
This  is  an  excellent  general  rule.  If  objections  to  our  doc- 
trine are  well  known  and  weighty,  we  may  begin  by 
removing  them,  lest  our  hearers,  while  the  objections 
remain  in  their  minds,  listen  with  prejudice  to  our  positive 
proofs.  But  if  the  objections  are  contingent,  and  there  is 
fear  that  they  may  arise  in  the  mind,  it  is  well  to  leave 

I  Whately. 

s  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  190. 


Fallacies.  355 

them  for  the  last.  If  objections  are  sufficiently  met  in  the 
main  direct  arguments,  it  is  better  to  refute  them  after 
presenting  those  direct  arguments  and  before  proceeding 
to  another  point  in  the  sermon.  Unless  objections  are 
obvious  or  plausible,  there  is  no  need  of  even  alluding  to 
them. 

§    VII.      FALLACIES. 

A  fallacy  is  "  any  unsound  mode  of  arguing,  which  ap- 
pears to  demand  our  conviction,  and  to  be  decisive  of  the 
question  in  hand,  when  in  fairness  it  is  not."  The  preacher 
may  not  wish  to  deceive  his  hearers  by  any  sophistical 
reasoning,  but  may  himself  be  deceived,  and  think  he  has 
proved  his  proposition,  when  unknowingly  he  has  erred 
by  violating  the  rules  of  logic,  or,  perhaps,  has  been  influ- 
enced by  prejudice  or  passion.  "  It  should  be  allowed  at 
once  that  the  best  safeguard  against  error  of  every  kind 
is  to  be  found  in  a  sincere  desire  to  discover  the  truth, 
which  keeps  the  mind  open  to  facts  and  arguments,  from 
whatever  quarter  they  come  — '  When  the  eye  is  single,  the 
whole  body  is  full  of  light.'  "  ^  But  the  most  honest 
inquirer  after  truth  may  be  de<;eived,  for  "to  err  is  hu- 
man;" and  hence  arises  the  importance  of  understanding 
the  laws  of  reasoning.  It  will  be  useful  here  to  refer  to 
those  fallacies  (material  or  informal)  which  are  of  most 
common  occurrence  in  the  pulpit. 

I.      Verbal  Fallacies. 

Words  are  the  vehicles  which  convey  ideas;  but  how 
inadequately  do  they  often  perform  their  work.  The  idea 
in  the  mind  of  a  speaker  may  be  right,  but  may  be  wrongly 
expressed;  for  the  English  language,  being  composed  of 
so  many  words  from  various  sources,  and  being  subject  to 
great  fluctuation,  is  liable  to  deceive  both  the  speaker  and 

I  McCosh's  L'?gic,  p.  169.  As  to  how  the  heart  sways  the  head  in  reasoning,  see  his 
Logic,  Part  III.,  §  81. 


356  The  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermon, 

the  hearer.  Words,  from  their  etymolog}^,  admit  of  vari- 
ous meanings  and  shades  of  meaning;  custom,  also,  has 
attached  various  significations  to  the  same  word.  Thus, 
to  make,  has,  according  to  Johnson,  sixty-six  meanings;  to 
put,  eighty;  and  to  take,  one  hunih-ed  and  thirty-four  mean- 
ings. Again,  the  meaning  attached  to  a  word  in  one  age 
by  no  means  determines  what  it  will  be  in  another  age. 
Thus,  many  words  of  scripture  in  King  James'  day  had 
meanings  which  are  obsolete  to-day.  For  example,  "  pre- 
vent," in  I.  Thess.  iv.  15,  meant  to  go  before,  or  antici- 
pate; the  "caterpillar"  of  the  Old  Testament  is  a  locust 
with  wings.  In  Psalms  cxxiv.  3,  "  They  had  swallowed  us 
up  quick,"  did  not  then  mean  rapidly,  but  aliue.  "  Outland- 
ish," in  isTehemiah  xiii,  26,  meant  foreign. 

The  chief  sources  of  error  in  language  respect  either 
the  meaning  of  single  words  or  the  construction  of  sen- 
tences. 

1.  Words.  (1.)  Ambiguous  terms.  Thus  the  word  church 
may  mean  (a)  a  place  of  meeting  for  worship;  [b)  "a 
formally  organized  body  of  Christian  believers  worshiping 
together;"  (c)  "a  body  of  Christian  believers,  observing 
the  same  rites  and  acknowledging  the  same  ecclesiastical 
authority;"  [d)  all  the  faithful  who  compose  the  mystical 
body  of  Christ.  (2.)  Paronym.ous,  or  cognate  words,  "are 
the  noun,  substantive,  adjective,  verb,  etc.,  belonging  to 
each  other  and  springing  from  the  same  root;"'  but  they 
may  differ  widely  from  each  other  in  signification;  such 
as,  art,  artful;  faith,  faithful.  So  the  words  image  and 
imaginary  are  from  the  same  root;  but  the  one  implies 
something  real,  the  other  unreal.  (3.)  Akin  to  this  are 
instances  where  a  word  is  used  in  two  senses — "  one  time  in 
its  customary,  and  at  another  in  its  etymological,  sense."  ^ 

I  Coppee's  Elements  oj  Logic,  p.  191. 
3  Whately's  Logic. 


Fallacies.  ^^y 

Thus,  the  word  pagan,  from  pagus,  a  district  or  country, 
in  its  first  meaning  meant  a  countryman,  peasant,  or  villager 
(jpaganus);  but  its  present  meaning  is,  one  who  believes  in 
some  other  religion  than  that  of  Christ.  Such  words 
forming  the  middle  term,  or  entering  into  the  premises  or 
conclusion  of  an  argument,  will  result  in  fallacies;  and 
this  can  be  avoided  only  by  defining  beforehand  in  what 
sense  we  wish  to  use  the  terms. 

2.     Construction  of  sentences. 

(1.)  Amphibolous,'^  (z.  e.,  tossed  from  one  to  another, 
with  a  doubtful  meaning)  or  equivocal.  Such  sentences 
have  double  or  opposite  meanings;  as,  for  example,  the 
prophecy,  "  The  duke  yet  lives  that  Henry  shall  depose," 
may  mean  either  that  Henry  shall  depose  the  duke,  or  that 
the  duke  shall  depose  Henry.  Similar  was  the  celebrated 
response  of  the  Delphic  Oracle  to  Pyrrhus,  '■^Aio  te,  ^acida, 
Romanos  vincere  posse."  Here  either  accusative  may  be 
taken  with  the  infinitive,  making  either  Pyrrhus  or  the 
Romans  able  to  conquer.  In  the  ISTicene  Creed,  in  refer- 
ence to  Christ,  are  found  these  equivocal  words :  "  Being  of 
one  substance  with  the  Father,  by  whom  all  things  were 
made."  The  relative  clause  may  refer  to  Christ  or  to  the 
Father. 

(2.)  There  are  certain  oblique  expressions,  or  what 
Bowen  calls  fallacice  aecenttis,  which  ought  to  be  avoided 
in  the  sermon.  "  A  person  who  quotes  another,  omitting 
anything  which  serves  to  show  the  animus  of  the  meaning; 
or  one  who,  without  notice,  puts  any  word  of  the  author 
he  cites  in  Italics,  so  as  to  alter  its  emphasis;  or  one  who 
attempts  to  heighten  his  own  assertions,  so  as  to  make 
them  imply  more  than  he  would  openly  say,  by  Italics  or 
notes  of  exclamation  or  otherwise,  is  guilty  of  the  fallacia 
uccentus."  ^    It  is  said  of  the  historian  Hume,  that  "  with- 

I  AfjLifiC    and  /SdAAu. 
a  Bowen's  Logic,  p.  277. 


358  The  Preache?"  and  His  Sermon. 

out  asserting  much  more  tliau  cau  be  proven,  he  gives 
prominence  to  all  the  circumstances  which  support  his 
case,  or  glides  lightly  over  those  which  are  unfavorable  to 
it."  1 

II.  There  is  another  class  of  material  fallacies  which 
consist  in  deducing  conclusions  from  premises  known  to 
be  invalid  in  themselves.  - 

1.  The  most  common  is  the  jpditio  principii  (begging 
the  question),  which  "  takes  place  when  one  of  the  prem- 
ises (whether  true  or  false)  is  either  plainly  equivalent  to 
the  conclusion,  or  depends  on  that  for  its  own  reception,"^ 
Its  most  deceptive  form  is  the  "  circle,"  which  assumes  the 
fact  and  by  means  of  it  reaches  a  conclusion  which  is  after- 
ward employed  to  establish  the  fact  assumed.  "  Thus," 
says  Hamilton,  "  Plato  in  his  Phcedo  demonstrates  the 
immortality  of  the  soul  from  its  simplicity;  and  in  the 
Rej)ublic  he  demonstrates  its  simplicity  from  its  immortal- 
ity." Preachers  often  fall  into  this  error  by  first  proving 
some  doctrine  with  various  facts,  and  then  establishing 
these  facts  from  the  truth  of  the  doctrine.  Under  this 
head  Day  speaks  of  the  "  hysteron  proteron,"  in  which  the 
truth  of  the  antecedent  is  dependent  upon,  the  conclusion; 

1  Quoted  in  McCosh'a  Logic,  p.  18. 

2  "  Hume's  celebrated  argument  against  miracles  is  of  this  character.  '  It  is  contrary 
to  experience,'  ho  says,  •  that  the  laws  of  nature  should  be  suspended,  while  it  accords 
with  experience  that  testimony  should  prove  false.  Miracles,  therefore,  which  imply  a 
suspension  or  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature,  can  not  be  established  by  testimony.'  Now 
the  major  premise,  being  that  which  affirms  that  it  accords  with  experience  that  testi- 
mony should  prove  false,  is  unallowable,  because  its  contradictory  —  to  wit:  some  forms 
of  testimony  never  prove  false,  is  an  ascertained  and  universally  admitted  truth.  The 
Christian  syllogism  upon  the  subject  is  this:  Some  kinds  of  testimony  never,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  do  prove  false.  The  testimony  which  affirms  the  truth  of  the  miracles  of  the 
Bible  is  exclu.«ively  of  this  character.  The  major  prvmiso  of  this  syllogism  none  will 
dare  deny.  Mr.  Hume,  then,  in  assuming  the  contradictory  of  this  as  true,  has  laid 
down  premises  which  prove  nothing  whatever.  His  major  premise  also  is  unallowable, 
for  the  very  reason  that  the  minor  is,  and  also  contains  the  fault  of  begging  the  question 
at  issue.  The  real  meaning  of  his  major  is  this:  it  is  contrary  to  universal  experience, 
that  is,  to  the  experience  of  all  finite  intelligences,  that  the  laws  of  nature  should  be 
suspended.  This,  to  say  the  least,  is  not  an  ascertained  truth,  and  therefore  is  utterly 
void  of  all  logical  consequence  till  proven."— Mahan's  Logic,  p.  237. 

3  Whately's  Lo(iic. 


Composition  of  the  Discussion.  359 

as,  when  scripture  testimony  is  urged  in  favor  of  the  being 
of  God,  scripture  testimony  being  valid  only  as  it  is  the 
testimony  of  God,  and  therefore  pre-supposing  his  exist- 
ence.^ 

2.  "  There  are  certain  kinds  of  argument  recounted 
and  named  by  logical  writers,  which  we  should  by  no 
means  universally  call  fallacies;  but  which  when  unfairly 
used,  and  so  far  as  they  are  fallacious,  may  very  well  be 
referred  to  the  present  head;  such  as  the  ^  argumentum  ad 
hominem'  (or  '  personal  ^vguvaQwi''),'' argumentum  ad  vere- 
cundiam,'  '  argumentum  ad  j^ojndum,'  etc.,  all  of  them 
regarded  as  contradistinguished  from  '  argumentum  ad 
rem.'  *  *  *  *  Along  Avith  these  is  usually  enumerated 
*  argumentum  ad  ignorantiam.^ "  ^ 

A  preacher  may  also  commit  the  error  of  proving  too 
much,  by  building  conclusions  on  premises  which  might 
also  be  used  in  building  other  conclusions  known  to  be 
false.     Qui  nimium  probat,  nihil  probat.^ 

Every  preacher,  in  his  discussion,  should  avoid  all  jests, 
raillery,  and  punning,  or  any  other  mock  arguments  which 
are  not  proof,  and  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  solid  mate- 
rial of  a  serious  production.  Likewise,  the  use  of  epithets, 
the  calling  of  names,  indicates  temper  or  a  paucity  of 
ideas.  Either  impression  made  on  an  audience  is  fatal  to 
the  speaker.  Epithets  are  not  arguments.  "  Come  now, 
and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord." 

§   VIII.      SUGGESTIONS    ON    THE    COMPOSITION  OF  THE  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Do  not  depend  too  much  on  logical  proof  in  the 
effort  to  produce  conviction.  Reason  is  one  of  the  means, 
but  not  the  only  means,  by  which  we  make  men  feel  and 
believe  the  great  truths  of  the  gospel.    Sympathy  with  the 

X  Day's  Elements  of  Logic,  p.  192. 

a  Whately'9  Logic,  Book  III.,  pp.  236,  237. 

3  He  who  proves  too  much,  proves  nothing 


360  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

truth,  and  an  earnest  enforcement  of  tlie  revealed  word  as 
recorded  by  the  inspired  writers,  often  do  more  to  bring 
men  over  to  the  side  of  trath  than  a  long  course  of  ratioci- 
nation. "There  are  comparatively  few  in  our  ordinary 
congregations  who  are  able  to  follow  a  long  series  of  argu- 
ments and  demonstrations."' 

Besides,  the  majority  that  compose  our  American  con- 
gregations, who  are  already  sufficiently  convinced  in  their 
minds  of  the  truth  of  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  Christian- 
ity, will  weary  in  listening  to  a  labored  argument  that 
aims  only  to  prove  something  which  they  never  doubted 
for  a  moment.  "In  preaching  we  need  not  act  as  if  every- 
thing had  to  be  proved.  Some  things  can  not  be  proved; 
some  do  not  need  to  be,  and  others  have  been  sufficiently 
proved  before,  and  should  now  be  taken  for  granted."  ^  It 
is  not  necessary  to  prove  that  death  is  certain,  that  truth 
is  right,  or  that  eternity  is  important,  for  such  facts  must 
always  be  assumed.  The  sermon  is  not  a  proposition  of 
Euclid,  which  must  go  through  a  strictly  dialectical  and 
demonstrative  process,  but  should  be  connected  with  the 
will,  the  feeling,  the  experience,  as  well  as  with  the  reason. 
Purely  cold  logic,  like  that  of  Butler's  "Analogy,"  is  utterly 
unfit  for  the  pulpit.  ITeither  should  we  attempt  to  prove 
something  that  is  doubtful,  or  strain  a  point,  for  the  sake 
of  showing  our  tact  in  argumentation. 

Another  fact,  which  has  been  well  attested  by  human 
experience,  is,  that  reason,  at  best,  is  often  unreliable,  and 
should  therefore  be  made  subordinate  to  the  divine  testi- 
mony. There  were  times  when  men,  for  thousands  of 
years,  taught  that  the  sun  moved  around  the  earth,  and 
accused  Copernicus  for  teaching  otherwise.  Thales,  the 
Ionic  philosopher,  supposed  he  had  demonstrated  that  "the 

I  Potter's  Sacred  Eloquence. 

a  Broadua'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  100. 


Composition  of  the  Discttssion.  361 

principle  (the  primal,  the  original  ground)  of  all  things  is 
water;  from  water  everything  arises,  and  into  water  every- 
thing returns."  Who  would  think  that  reason  would  teach 
men  to  worship  stocks  and  stones?  Our  reasoning  is  often 
a  mere  experiment  in  theology  —  a  guessing  at  the  truth, 
and  without  the  aid  of  revelation  sees  everything  through 
a  glass  darkly.  The  revealed  Word  is  the  mind's  compass, 
that  points  us  to  absolute  truth,  and  in  religion  must  be 
the  great  and  fundamental  basis  of  all  proof  that  can  rea- 
sonably claim  our  conviction  and  faith.  Yet  logical  argu- 
ment may  be  employed  moderately  and  discreetly,  as  a 
supplement  to  the  divine  authority,  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  that  many  divine  things  are  cognizable  to  tho 
human  conception,  and  that  while  others  are  beyond  our 
reason,  they  are  by  no  means  unreasonable. 

In  the  selections  of  arguments  for  the  discussion  we 
must  always  have  our  audience  in  mind,  and  try  to  adapt 
the  arguments  to  theii  capacity  and  circumstances.  "  It  is 
a  very  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  proof  which  is  the 
strongest  'per  se  is  alwa}  s  therefore  the  strongest  relato  ad 
uuditorem.  In  order  to  convince  himself  of  the  relative 
strength  of  his  argumentt^  ^,he  preacher  oaglit  to  ask  him- 
self whether,  if  they  were  proposed  coolly  and  calmly,  in 
ordinary  conversation,  they  would  produce  the  effect  which 
he  desires,  and  whether,  if  he  were  in  the  place  of  the 
sinner  whom  he  seeks  to  comert,  he  himself  would  be  con- 
verted by  his  own  arguments.  If  they  will  bear  this  test 
he  may  safely  and  confidently  adopt  them."  ^ 

2.  Develop  the  sermon  and  all  its  parts  in  various  ways. 
Carefully  consider  what  kind  of  treatment  will  best  serve 
the  development  of  the  discussion,  ^ome  points  require 
proof,   some    explanation,   some  illustration,   and    others 


I  Potter's  Sacred  Eloquence,  pp.  198, 199. 


o 


62  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 


exhortation,  application  or  amplification.  What  partic- 
ular mode  of  handling  is  to  be  used  must  be  determined 

(1.)  By  the  nature  of  the  subject  treated,  which  may  be 
congenial  to  one  kind  of  treatment  and  repulsive  to  an- 
other. Thus,  to  discuss  the  subject,  "  Christ's  Love," 
argumentatively,  and  the  subject,  "  The  Extent  of  the 
Atonement,"  historically,  would  be  incongraous,  and  should 
be  reversed. 

(2.)  By  the  nature  of  the  audience.  Some  congrega- 
tions could  not  be  benefited  by  a  metaphysical  or  dialectic 
discussion,  and  therefore  the  sermonizer  must  adapt  his 
matter  and  manner  to  the  intellectual  grade  of  his  hearers 
as  unlearned,  cultured,  or  juvenile. 

(3.)  By  the  occasion.  A  revival,  out-door,  or  funeral 
sermon  must  have  little  elaborate  dogmatism,  and  much 
practical  intensity;  while  a  discourse  on  special  literary 
occasions  will  admit  of  much  scholarly  disquisition,  and 
less  of  the  hortatory  style.  It  would  seem  that  the  place 
and  circumstances  of  an  argument  would,  prima  facie,  de- 
termine the  course  to  be  pursued  in  the  discussion. 

A  preacher  should  accustom  himself  to  a  suitable  variety 
of  treatment,  not  indulging  habitually  in  the  argumenta- 
tive method,  or  the  illustrative,  but  using  each  in  proper 
proportions.  Much  tact  is  needed,  not  only  in  the  choice 
of  rhetorical  discussion,  but  also  in  the  actual  treatment 
of  it. 

3.  Having  invented  the  thought  for  the  discussion,  the 
next  and  last  work  is  to  arrange,  correct,  and  finish. 

If  the  thought  produced  is  homogeneous,  the  sermon 
should  assume  the  topical  form;  if  heterogeneous,  as  sug- 
gested by  the  various  themes  of  the  text,  it  would  naturally 
fall  into  the  textual.  If  unwritten,  consisting  of  "jottings 
down "  in  a  crude  state,  the  sermonizer  should  draft  an 
outline  for  a  sermon  therefrom,  ready  for  delivery  in  the- 


Co7nposition  of  the  Discussion.  363 

pulpit;  if  written,  in  addition  to  arranging,  attention  must 
also  be  given  to  style,  according  to  chapter  on  Style. 

A  final  criticism  must  not  be  omitted.  Perhaps  no  time 
spent  upon  the  sermon  can  be  more  profitably  employed 
than  this.  Let  no  admiration  of  the  sermon  blunt  the 
keenness  of  the  pruning-knife,  or  destroy  the  severe  accu- 
racy of  the  honest  balances  that  weigh  the  "  aptness  of  the 
quotations,  the  proportions  of  the  treatment,  the  purity  of 
the  style,  and  the  cogency  of  the  argument."  Buffbn  was 
accustomed,  after  the  first  work,  to  put  aside  the  manu- 
script, to  leave  it  without  thinking  of  it,  without  seeing  it, 
during  a  time  sufficiently  long  for  the  mind  to  become 
entirely  free  from  the  impression  under  which  he  had  com- 
posed it.  When  he  took  it  up  again,  after  securing  to 
himself  as  calm  a  frame  of  mind  as  possible,  he  had  it  read 
aloud  to  him  by  a  person  to  whom  the  sketch  was  entirely 
new.  Every  phrase  of  which  the  reader  did  not  seize  the 
construction,  which  did  not  run  easily  and  harmoniously, 
every  thought  which  did  not  belong  to  the  general  sense, 
and  which  embarrassed  or  confused  the  reason,  was 
changed.  He  went  through  this  courageous  labor  every 
time  that  a  newly  discovered  fact  required  a  modification.* 
Moral  criticism  is  as  needful  as  verbal.  The  searching 
question  should  often  cross  us,  "  Is  this  to  glorify  God  or 
to  please  men?"  And  if  it  is  our  sincere  desire  to  give 
our  divine  Master  the  very  best  we  have  to  give,  we  will 
grudge  neither  our  time  nor  our  pains. 

In  tlie  second  process  of  composition,  observe  the  follow- 
ing rules: 

(1.)  Be  not  too  critical,  lest  the  sermon  appear  pedantic 
and  labored.  Pick  out  error  only  as  one  picks  cinders  out 
of  a  fire,  not  to  slacken  but  increase  its  heat.  Where  a 
suitable  thought  can  not  be  made  to  conform  to  the  re- 

I  See  Boyd's  Composition  and  Rhetoric,  p.  236. 


364  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

quirements  of  homiletic  structure  witliout  detriment  to 
the  good  effect  of  the  sermon,  it  is  always  better  to  sacri- 
fice the  form  than  the  substance. 

(2.)  Make  your  theme  the  subject  of  special  thought 
during  the  entire  week.  Many  useful  suggestions  may 
come  to  you  during  recreation,  reading,  or  pastoral  work. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  CONCLUSION. 

Its  Importance — Design  of  the  Conclusion  —  Material  for  Conclusion  — 
Improper  Material  for  Conclusion  — General  Character  of  the  Conclu- 
sion— Suggestions  on  the  Composition  of  the  Conclusion. 

§    I.      ITS    IMPORTANCE. 

The  last  and  crowning  part  of  a  sermon  is  the  conclu- 
sion.^ "  The  culmination  of  the  preacher's  power  may 
often  be  seen  in  these  few  closing  paragraphs."  ^  The  high- 
est skill  of  a  preacher's  oratory,  the  richest  treasure  of  his 
scholarship,  and  the  utmost  force  of  his  moral  character, 
should  here  put  forth  their  combined  power  in  the  outpour- 
ing of  the  grandest  eloquence.  The  greatest  care,  then, 
should  be  taken  in  the  composition  of  the  conclusion,  in 
order  to  make  it  the  most  telling  part  of  the  entire  sermon. 

Even  in  secular  oratory,  the  utmost  care  is  usually  taken 
in  the  concluding  passages  that  a  sufficient  reserve-force  be 
preserved  for  the  final  onset  upon  the  will  of  the  hearer, 
and  that  the  deepest  impression  may  come  last.  The 
perorations  of  the  orations  of  Cicero  and  Demosthenes 
were  carefully  constructed.  The  conclusion  of  Edmund 
Burke's  speech  on  the  impeachment  of  Warren  Hastings 

1  In  pulpit  nomenclature  it  has  been  known  by  various  names.  The  early  fathers 
called  it  "  uses,"  but  later  it  was  designated  by  "  application."  Formerly,  in  Scotland, 
it  was  called  "improvement;"  the  principal  use  of  which  was  to  improve,  or  to  make 
better,  the  foregoing  discourse.  Some  term  it  "  reflection,"  "inferences,"  "  remarks," 
"observations,"  etc. 

3  Phelps'  Theory  of  Preaching,  p.  455. 

365 


366  The  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

was  elaborated  sixteen  times,  and  established  his  fame.* 
The  conclusion  of  Lord  Brougham's  defense  of  Queen 
Caroline  is  said  to  have  been  rewritten  eighteen  or  twenty 
times  before  it  was  delivered.  The  great  political  orator, 
John  Bright,  always  spent  much  time  in  preparing  his 
conclusions.  So  important  seemed  the  conclusion  in  the 
estimation  of  all  successful  orators  that  "  at  this  point  in 
the  process  of  the  orator,  they  seem  to  have  exerted  their 
utmost  possibility  of  eftbrt,  like  a  leaper,  who  throws  his 
whole  brute  force  into  that  one  leap  which  is  to  save  his 
life  from  destruction."  ^ 

If  the  conclusion  is  so  important  in  secular  and  political 
oratory,  it  is  still  more  so  in  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 
Addresses  before  judicial  tribunals  are  followed  by  imme- 
diate action  afiectiug  men's  temporal  weal  or  woe;  but  in 
religious  addresses  much  greater  interests  are  at  stake,  and 
much  more  depends  on  the  final  impression  which  the 
religious  teacher  makes  upon  the  mind  of  his  auditor. 
This  is  the  decisive  moment,  the  last  effort  which  is  to 
decide  the  victory.  This  effort  ought  to  be  a  signal  one, 
such  a  one  as  M^ould  cause  the  hearer  to  say,  "  Were  I  to 
live  a  hundred  years  I  would  never  forget  it."  "  The  last 
five  minutes  of  the  sermon,  in  point  of  real  effect,  ought  to 
be  worth  all  the  thirty  or  thirty -five  that  have  gone  before 
them."  An  English  preacher  used  to  say  that  he  cared 
very  little  what  he  said  the  first  half  hour,  but  that  he 
cared  a  very  great  deal  what  he  said  the  last  five  minutes.' 

We  know  of  nothing  in  sermonizing  which  is  more  difi&- 
cult,  and  which  requires  more  skill  and  prudent  considei'a- 
tion,  than  the  construction  of   a  good   conclusion.      Yet 

1  Hastings  himself  sniii,  that  in  listening  to  it  ho  felt  himself  to  be  the  most  guilty 
man  alive. 

2  Shedd's  Homilefics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  197. 

3  Cicero's  rule  was,  "  Quae  exccUanl  serventur  ad  perorandum;''' — Let  the  most  excellent 
things  be  reseivcd  for  the  peroration. 


Design  of  the  Co7iclusion.  367 

how  many  preachers  slight  this  part  of  the  work.  The 
introduction  and  discussion  are  carefully  prepared  and 
well  delivered,  but  when  they  come  to  the  conclusion  they 
are  fatigued,  exhausted,  and  hurry  to  get  done.  •  They  dis- 
patch the  latter  part  with  some  common-place  exhortation, 
or  remarks  that  are  scattering  and  feeble.  "  The  conclu- 
sion ought  to  have  moved  like  a  river,  growing  in  volume 
and  power,  but  instead  of  that,  the  discourse  loses  itself  in 
some  great  marsh,  or  ends  like  the  emptying  of  a  pitcher, 
with  a  few  poor  drops  and  dregs."  ^  It  is  folly  for  a 
preacher  to  offer  in  his  conclusion  the  fruits  of  a  jaded 
mind,  or  to  exhaust  himself  or  his  audience  before  the 
decisive  moment  is  reached.  He  who  will  be  master  of  the 
situation  and  conqueror  on  the  battle-field,  must  reserve 
his  sublimest  eflbrt  for  the  last. 

Of  the  three  fundamental  parts  of  the  sermon,  introduc- 
tion, discussion,  and  conclusion,  the  last  is  the  most  tell- 
ing. If  it  is  poor,  it  may  destroy  the  impression  of  the 
first,  and  do  much  to  neutralize  the  second;  but  if  it  is 
^ood,  it  will  help  to  atone  for  the  deficiencies  of  the  first  and 
second,  or  to  heighten  preceding  excellences.  The  fault 
•of  indifterence  is  nowhere  so  fatal  as  in  the  conclusion. 
The  first  two  prepare  the  way  for  powerful  impressions. 
They  furnish  the  heat  which,  when  concentrated  into  a 
focus,  will  burn;  and  he  who  neglects  the  opportunity  of 
turning  his  material  to  good  efl'ect  by  focalizing  it  into  a 
powerful  conclusion,  will  make  a  failure  of  his  sermon, 
however  well  prepared  in  its  beginning  and  groundwork. 

§    II.       DESIGN    OF    THE    CONCLUSION. 

Secondarily,  the  design  of  the  conclusion  may  be  to 
avoid  abruptness  in  closing  a  sermon,^  which  would  be  a 

1  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  278. 

2  Dr.  James  Wilson,  of  Philadelphia,  used  to  preach  exactly  one  hour  by  the  clock; 
no  more,  no  less.  At  the  moment  the  hour  hand  pointed  to  twelve  o'clock,  he  would  stop 
and  say,  "  Brethren,  the  hour  is  up  ;  let  us  pray." 


368  The  Preacher  mid  His  Sermon. 

greater  fault  in  tlie  discourse  than  the  sudden,  beginning 
of  fiery  eloquence  in  the  introduction;  for  having  acquired 
the  momentum  of  a  heated  discussion,  an  abrupt  halt 
would  be  like  the  sudden  stopping  of  a  flying  train.  Or, 
the  design  may  be,  so  to  speak,  to  bid  farewell  to  a  subject 
with  which  we  have  held  sweet  converse  for  a  time;  and 
as  the  final  parting  of  a  dear  friend  impresses  us  with  all 
the  good  qualities  of  his  nature,  so  that  we  feel  his  worth 
as  never  before;  so  all  the  pleasant  associations  of  the  ser- 
mon in  its  preparation  and  delivery  are  revived  afresh  in 
the  conclusion,  when  we  take  final  leave  of  the  subject. 
But  primarily,  the  fundamental  design  of  a  conclusion 
is,  to  concentrate  the  principal  elements  of  truth  contained  in 
the  discussion  into  one  poioerful  impression,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
imprint  the  supreme  object  of  the  discourse  up)on  the  hearer's 
mind.  The  scattering  rays  of  heat  must  be  brought  to  a 
burnino-  focus,  which  focus  must  coincide  with  the  ultimate 
object  which  the  preacher  had  in  view  when  he  selected 
his  subject.  Every  preacher  should  see  the  end  from  the 
beginning,  and  steadily  advance  toward  it  -svith  ever  in- 
creasing power  and  undeviating  aim  of  purpose.  The 
introduction  and  conclusion  stand  over  against  each  other, 
like  the  two  continents  at  Behring's  Strait,  one  or  both  of 
which  is  always  in  sight  while  you  cross  as  soon  as  prac- 
ticable the  intermediate  sea  of  discussion.  The  materials 
in  the  main  body  of  the  sermon  must  be  of  such  a  nature 
and  arrangement  that  they  will  combine  their  efl:ect  in  the 
conclusion.  "There  is  something  in  this  principle  of  ora- 
tory analogous  to  the  current  of  a  great  river.  It  rises  in 
remote  mountains,  a  mere  rill,  then  it  becomes  a  rivulet, 
then  a  brook,  then  by  the  accession  of  tributary  streams 
it  swells,  and  widens,  and  deepens  in  its  course  till  it  rolls 
on  a  flood  of  waters  to  the  ocean.  But  imagine,  if  you 
can,  a  river  diminishing  in  force  as  it  runs,  parting  ofl"  a 


Material  for  Conclusion.  369 

rivulet  on  the  right  hand  and  another  on  the  left,  till  the 
main  channel  is  dry,  while  each  branch  becomes  less  and 
less  till  it  is  lost,  and  you  have  a  tolerable  representation 
of  a  sermon  which  promises  well  at  first,  but  diverges  into 
parts  and  dwindles  as  it  goes  on,  till  the  current  of  thought 
ia  exhausted  in  a  feeble  conclusion."  ^ 

This  culmination  of  material  must  also  be  so  directed  as 
to  hit  the  intended  mark.  Like  a  letter,  it  must  be  directed 
to  a  certain  destination;  otherwise  it  will  pass  to  the  dead- 
letter  office.  "What  gives  the  conclusion  such  paramount 
importance  in  the  sermon  is,  that  its  design  answers  the 
great  design  of  preaching,  which  is  to  bring  the  truth  of 
the  gospel  into  vital  contact  with  the  various  phases  of 
human  experience;  and  he  is  the  best  preacher  who  can 
the  best  do  this.  "We  do  not  preach  for  the  sake  of  preach- 
ing, but  to  apply  the  truth  to  individual  cases.  If  we 
preach  at  random,  giving  the  conclusion  of  our  whole 
sermon  any  turn  which  convenience  may  dictate,  we  are 
unfaithful  to  the  true  object  of  the  sacred  ministry,  and 
make  the  truth  of  none  eflect.  Let  the  preacher  first  select 
his  point  of  attack, — namel}^,  that  which  needs  the  most 
attention  in  the  wants  of  his  congregation, — arrange  his 
discourse  accordingly,  and  then  end  with  great  emphasis 
at  the  point  aimed  at.  In  this  respect  the  conclusion  is 
not  like  the  mouth  of  a  stream,  whose  channel  often  runs 
along  circuitously  in  the  most  natural  way  and  ends  at  the 
most  convenient  place,  but  like  a  rifle-ball,  a  wasted  shot 
unless  it  hits  the  mark. 

§    III.       MATERIAL    rOR    CONCLUSION. 

This  depends  solely  upon  the  nature  of  the  sermon;  for 
the  conclusion  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the  discussion, 

I  Porter's  Lectures  on  Homileiics,  p.  162.  Vinet  very  aptly  says,  "  The  peroration  is  the 
mouth  at  which  the  discourse  discharges  itself  as  the  exordium  is  its  source,  and  a  river 
at  its  mouth  is  larger,  fuller,  more  powerful,  than  it  is  at  its  source." 


370  TJie  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

The  conclusion  ought  to  be  the  quintessence  of  all  that 
precedes  it, —  the  combination  of  the  best  parts  of  the 
discussion  into  one  final  eflbrt  of  eloquence.  Especially 
ought  it  to  be  the  natural  effect  of  a  cause;  for,  as  Vinet 
Bays,  speaking  of  the  conclusion,  "  it  is  not  a  separate  and 
independent  discourse;  it  is  the  result  of  the  discourse," 
which  should  flow  spontaneously  from  the  contents  of  the 
discussion. 

"  The  peroration  should  be  drawn  from  the  very  heart 
of  the  subject,  should  be  something  striking,  something 
felicitous,  something  by  itself  apart,  something  diflerent 
from  what  has  gone  before,  though  derived  from  it,  some- 
thing more  vehement  and  direct,  which  completes  and 
forms  the  crown  of  the  whole  sermon."' 

The  material  sometimes  is  of  the  nature  of  a  — 

I.  Recapitulation.  "  There  are  two  kinds  of  perora- 
tions, the  one  recapitulation,  and  the  other  whatever  is 
adapted  to  excite  the  feelings,"  ^  It  is  often  necessary,  at 
the  end,  to  make  a  recapitulation,  which  collects,  in  few 
words,  the  leading  arguments  into  a  solid  group.  It  is  the 
finishing  stroke  that  clinches  the  nails  of  argument.  Gen- 
erally, it  constitutes  the  beginning  of  the  conclusion;  and 
it  is  used  as  a  transition  from  the  discussion  to  the  ulti- 
mate object  of  the  sermon,  or  as  the  connecting  link 
between  the  arguments  and  the  crowning  impression  at 
the  close.  It  is  mostly  used  in  argumentative  and  explan- 
atory discourse,  or  when  it  is  important  to  bring  together 
the  most  important  things  that  have  been  said,  so  as  to 
accumulate  oratorical  force  for  the  final  appeal. 

But  to  recapitulate  thus  is  not  to  repeat  the  sermon  in 
brief,  or  to  restate  all  the  divisions  and  sub-divisions  in 
the   order   previously  used,  but   to   revive   the  important 

1  Coquerel,  quoted  by  Hoppin,  in  HomUetics,  p.  434 
e  Hervey's  Christian  Rhetoric,  p.  3'26. 


Material  for  Co7icbision.  371 

points  by  recalling  the  train  of  thought,  in  a  general  way, 
and  concentrating  them  into  a  final  efibrt  of  conviction. 
Sometimes  a  sermon  may  be  so  constituted  that  each  suc- 
ceeding division  will  carry  along  with  it  the  full  weight  of 
all  that  precedes  it,  which  will  render  recapitulation  at  the 
■close  unnecessary.  In  such  cases  we  may  leave  off  where 
we  began,  by  simply  referring  to  the  text,  introduction,  or 
initial  argument,  for  the  sake  of  unity  and  of  holding  our 
hearers  to  that  which  was  the  first  and  last  object  of  the 
discourse.  Such  reference  may  bring  up  in  their  minds 
the  whole  train  of  arguments,  without  a  formal  statement 
of  them  by  the  preacher. 

The  recapitulation  should  be  hrief.  Its  object  is  to  com- 
press in  an  epitome  the  whole  force  of  the  discussion,  in 
order  to  thrust  it  forth  at  one  blow.  It  ought  to  be  only 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  theme,  without  anything  "  stiff", 
formal,  or  statistical." 

It  should  be  strictly  a  recapitulation.  It  should  not  admit 
any  new  material,  nor  a  new  explanation  of  the  old.  It 
should  be  given  in  climactic  order,  and  be  expressed  in  language 
different  from  that  used  in  the  body  of  the  sermon,  so  as  to 
give  the  old  material  freshness  of  form  and  expression.^ 
It  should  be  expressed  in  livelier,  stronger  terms,  with  addi- 
tional power  and  interest.  How  forcible  the  recapitulation 
of  Solomon's  elaborate  treatise  on  earthly  vanities  when 
he  says,  "Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter: 
Fear  God,  and  keep  his  commandments:  for  this  is  the 
whole  duty  of  man."     (Ecc.  xii.  13.) 

Generally,  the  conclusion  is  made  up  of — 

II.  Application.  The  conclusion  proper  consists  of  the 
application  of  the  subject  to  the  object  of  the  sermon. 
This  is  the  supreme  purpose  for  which  the  sermon  was 

I  Dr.  Doddridge  often  used  to  compose  a  hymn  made  up  of  the  leading  thoughts  of 
his  sermon,  and  offer  it  for  the  service  of  song  at  the  close.  The  hymn  beginning,  "Jesus, 
I  love  thy  charming  name,"  is  one  of  these  sermon-synopsea. 


372  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

prepared ;  and  a  preaclier  preaching  a  sermon  witliout 
application  would  be  like  a  physician  giving  to  his  pa- 
tient a  lecture  on  general  health,  and  forgetting  to  write 
him  a  prescription.^ 

In  expository  or  historical  sermons,  in  sermons  to  chil- 
dren, or  in  revival  preaching,  especially  in  discussions  of  a 
hortatory  nature,  there  may  be  continuous  application  run- 
ning along  with  the  development  of  the  sermon,  in  which 
each  division  or  part  of  the  discourse  is  applied  as  the 
sermon  proceeds.  In  such  cases  the  same  rules  apply  to 
the  management  of  application  in  sectional  portions  as  in 
a  summary  effort,  or  compact  application. 

But  generally,  the  application  is  condensed  into  one 
Bolid  effort  in  the  conclusion.  Especially  is  this  true  in 
continuous  argument,  each  branch  of  which  is  incomplete 
until  the  whole  is  finished.  To  insert  the  application 
sooner  would  interrupt  the  discussion  and  leave  the  con- 
clusion weak  for  want  of  accumulative  force  of  application. 
"  Delay  often  reduplicates  the  force  of  application  when  it 
comes;" ^  for  an  argument  gathers  force  as  it  advances 
toward  a  climax,  and  pours  its  accumulated  wealth  of 
thought  and  feeling  into  a  powerful  conclusion.  The 
preacher  is  gathering  a  volume  of  reserve-force  as  he  pro- 
ceeds, without  a  word  expi*essive  of  the  gathering  storm, 
except  the  silent  emanations  going  forth  from  the  whole 
discussion,  which  soften  the  feelings,  awaken  the  con- 
science, and  prepare  the  mind  of  the  hearer  for  deep, 
concentrated  impression.  "  Weight,  not  bulk,  of  appeal 
becomes  the  test  of  value." 

The  compact  application  has  another  advantage,  in  that 
it  arouses  the  sensibilities  but  once,  and  at  the  most  pro- 
pitious time.      The  heart  can  best  be  reached  after  the 

1  iMniel  Webster  used  to  say,  "  When  a  man  preaches  to  me,  1  want  him  to  make  it 
a  personat  matter.''' 

2  Phelps'  Theury  of  Pieacliing,  p.  007. 


Material  foi'-   ConcliLsion.  373 

mind  has  been  thoroughly  informed  and  convinced.  To 
intersperse  application  at  intervals,  exhausts  the  feelings 
by  transitions  from  the  toil  of  "  intellectual  tension  to  the 
luxury  of  emotional  relaxation."  Each  little  bit  of  emo- 
tion is  lost  in  the  next  task  of  thinking,  and  the  sensibility 
becomes  callous  by  every  repetition,  until  it  no  longer 
receives  an  impression.  But  by  reserving  all  application 
for  the  last,  with  all  the  arguments  now  lodged  in  the 
mind,  an  appeal  to  the  emotions  will  be  cumulative  and 
lasting,  instead  of  scattering  and  transitory.  The  hearer 
knows  that  the  mind  has  now  received  all  the  needed  infor- 
mation, and  he  is  hence  ready  to  reflect  and  to  open  his 
heart  to  exhortation  upon  all  its  lessons  and  admonitions. 
He  leaves  the  sanctuary  with  a  deep  impression  of  the 
sermon,  supported  by  many  solid  arguments  and  clinched 
by  one  forcible  application.     He  may  not  soon  forget  it. 

The  application  may  be  in  the  form  of — 

1.  Inferences. — Inferences  are  logical  deductions  from  the 
substance  of  the  discussion,  and  are  especially  applicable 
to  intellectual  or  abstract  themes  in  which  the  practical 
result  of  the  logical  argumentation  can  best  be  brought 
out  through  inferential  application.  Thus,  very  useful  and 
practical  lessons  may  be  deduced  from  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  the  nature  of  the  atonement,  or  the  personality 
of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  such  inferences,  when  properly 
managed,  carry  with  them  a  ponderous  weight  of  impres- 
sion.    They  should  be: 

(1.)  Legitimate.^  "  They  must  originate  from  the  very 
heart,  and  substance,  of  the  proposition  or  doctrine.  In- 
ferences should  not  be  drawn  from  the  accidental,  or  inci- 
dental, parts  of  the  subject,  but  from  its  essentials,  alone."  ^ 
It  is  the  logical  sequence  that  gives  them  their  distinctive 

I  Cf.  Shedd'a  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  pp.  201-204,  whose  treatment  on  the 
topic  of  Inferences  is  the  best  in  the  record  of  homiletical  literature.  2  Ibid. 


374  '^^''^  Pi'eacher  ayici  His  Ser7non. 

character;  otherwise,  tliey  would  be  only  suggestions  or 
lessons  that  have  some  relation  to  or  connection  with  the 
subject,  but  no  vital,  necessary  union  with  the  main  body 
of  discourse.  Inferences  may  be  logical,  in  the  sense  that 
they  have  a  possible  or  circuitous  nexus  with  the  theme 
that  would  be  entirely  unsuspected  to  the  hearer;  but  un- 
less the  inferences  are  the  inevitable  offspring  from  the 
parent  idea  of  discourse  they  are  not  legitimate.  They 
must  come  from  the  actual,  not  possible,  range  of  the 
subject. 

(2.)  Forcible.  That  is,  they  should  not  be  all  the  log- 
ical inferences  that  could  be  drawn,  but  the  best;  it  is  better 
that  they  be  few  aud  significant  than  manj'  and  trifling. 
One  of  Flavel's  sermons  has  twenty-four  inferences  in  the 
conclusion,  another  has  fifty-six.  One  of  President  Ed- 
wards' sermons  has  twenty-two  divisions  in  the  applica- 
tion, and  one  has  thirty -one.  Such  multiplication  of 
inferences  is  destructive  to  a  forcible  conclusion.  Infer- 
ences gather  force  by  being  homogeneous  and  cumula- 
tive. They  are  intensified  by  harmony,  and  acquire 
increased  momentum  by  climactic  arrangement.  Some- 
times a  specific  inference  may  be  drawn  from  a  general 
inference  with  great  effect. 

(3.)  Practical.  Tlic  principal  design  of  inference  is  to 
evolve  practical  matter  out  of  metaphysical  discussion.  If 
it  fails  in  this,  the  object  of  the  sermon,  or  the  value  of  the 
conclusion,  is  essentially  impaired,  if  not  entirely  lost. 
"Wliat  we  want,  after  the  intellect  has  been  fed  with  strong 
meat,  is  an  eloquent  appeal  to  the  will  and  affections,  hav- 
ing reference  to  the  great  duties  of  life,  and  the  best 
interests  of  the  hearer,  for  which  object  the  whole  sermon 
was  constructed. 

Again,  the  application  may  be  in  the  form  of — 

2.     Remarks. —  "An  inference  is  a  logical  sequence:  a 


Material  for  Conclusio7i.  375 

remark  is  a  suggested  sequence.  Both  are  rhetorically  re- 
lated to  the  discussion  as  consequent  to  antecedent."^  It 
is  said  of  Dr.  Skinner,  of  New  York,  that  he  was  so  exact 
in  distinguishing  these  two  forms  of  application  that  he 
would  often  say,  in  the  beginning  of  the  conclusion  of  his 
Bermon,  "  I  shall  now  close  this  discourse  with  a  notice  of 
three  inferences  and  one  remark."  Sometimes  a  very 
happy  thought  connected  with  the  subject  may  be  used 
with  great  weight  in  the  conclusion;  but  such  applicatory 
remarks,  whether  consisting  of  hints,  lessons,  or  sugges- 
tions, should  all  be  natural  sequences  derived  from  the  dis- 
cussion. Neither  should  they  be  stiff,  dull,  or  formal,  but 
consist  of  fresh,  invigorating  material  that  will  give  im- 
pulse to  the  mind  of  the  hearer.  "  Some  preachers  are 
more  inventive,  more  prolific,  more  racy,  in  every  other 
process  of  sermonizing  than  in  that  of  applying  truth  to 
its  practical  uses.  They  explain  lucidly,  they  prove  forci- 
bly, they  illustrate  vividly;  but  they  do  not  apply  truth 
eloquently.  *  *  *  *  JSTo  art  of  invention  should  be  de- 
spised by  a  preacher  in  the  effort  to  throw  a  spell  over 
an  audience  by  the  raciness  of  closing  thoughts  and  the 
magnetism  of  last  words."  ^ 

Again,  the  several  remarks,  especially  when  the  applica- 
tion consists  entirely  of  such,  should  converge  to  one  gen- 
eral point  of  appeal.  The  different  reflections  suggested 
by  the  discourse  may  be  isolated;  they  may  grow  out  of 
different  parts  of  the  main  body;  they  may  be  contrasted 
with  each  other  or  with  the  theme;  they  may  consist  of 
rules  or  suggestions  as  to  tlie  best  means  of  practicing  the 
-lessons  or  duties  evolved  from  the  text;  and  yet  all  such 
remarks  may  point  to  one  grand  concluding  center,  and 
end  in  one  burning  point  of  powerful  address. 

Lastly,  the  application  may  be  in  the  form  of  an — 

I  Phelps'  Theory  of  Preaching,  p.  523.  2  Ibid.,  pp.  535,  536. 


376  The  Preacher  and  His  Ser77ion. 

3.  Appeal. —  This  surpasses  in  oratorical  force  the  infer- 
ences and  remarks,  and  is  the  most  eloquent  form  of 
speech.  It  is  the  point  in  the  discourse  where  the  highest 
inspiration  and  the  most  enraptured  feelings  are  enjoyed. 
It  is  not  necessarily  vehement.  It  may  be  the  most  tran- 
quil part  of  the  sermon;  but  it  should  be  the  "  tranquillity 
of  the  deepest  feeling,  of  the  fullest  thought,  of  the  most 
solemn  and  momentous  truth;  for  it  has  then  reached  a 
point  where  it  is  about  to  mingle  with  the  ocean  of  eternal 
life  or  death."  ^  It,  therefore,  does  not  further  develop  the 
subject,  but  applies  it  in  the  most  natural  and  spontaneous 
manner  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  the  hearers. 

The  appeal  should  be  addressed : 

(1.)  To  the  conscience.  Men  must  have  their  sense 
of  right  and  duty  awakened  by  lively  agitation.  It  is 
not  enough  that  the  intellect  be  addressed;  for  the  mind 
may  receive  knowledge  without  feeling  any  moral  obli- 
gation. It  is  one  thing  to  be  made  to  understand  a 
thing;  another,  to  be  made  to  feel  that  a  thing  ought  to 
be  done. 

(2.)  To  the  feelings.  "When  conscience  has  jB.rst  been 
aroused,  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  stir  the  feelings  so  as  to 
render  the  hearer  responsive  to  the  appeal.  The  object  of 
moving  the  feelings  is  that  thereby  we  may  the  better 
move  the  will.  The  mind  may  be  fully  convinced,  the 
conscience  wide-awake,  and  yet  the  will  unchanged.  If  at 
this  point  we  call  to  our  aid  the  powerful  influence  of  emo- 
tion, we  may  gain  a  complete  victory  over  the  will  oF  tlie 
hearer,  which  otherwise  might  be  almost  gained  but  alto- 
gether lost.  But  the  feelings,  either  of  the  speaker  or  of 
the  hearer,  should  not  be  overwrought.  Pathos  does  not 
60  much  consist  of  a  strained,  agitated  manner  as  of  a  deep 
feeling  of  earnestness  pervading  the  whole  man.     There  is 

I  Hoppin's  Office  and  Work  of  (he  Christian  Ministry,  p.  189. 


Material  for   Conclusio7i.  377 

a  great  difl'erence  between  violent  aj)peal  and  earnest  ap- 
peal. Sometimes  a  preacher  may  be  overpowered  with 
weeping,  but  as  a  rule  he  should  not  indulge  in  a  superflu- 
ity of  tears  before  a  weeping  congregation.  "  It  is  afi'ecta- 
tion  to  cultivate  tears,"  and  a  weakness  to  be  unable  to 
suppress  them.^  Genuine  earnestness  is  something  more 
-durable  and  solid  than  the  evanescent  tear,  has  its  root  infi- 
nitely deeper,  and  can  feel  and  speak  most  intensely  when 
unincumbered  with  sobbing  sounds  or  dripping  eyes. 
•Speaking  with  feeling  is  speaking  with  a  heart  in  it.  Hop- 
pin,  in  speaking  of  the  conclusions  of  Demosthenes'  and 
-^schines'  orations  "  On  the  Crown,"  says,  "  Their  banish- 
ment or  triumph,  their  political  life  or  death,  depended  on 
the  result.  They  reserved  their  strong  word  for  the  last. 
They  hurled  it  with  all  their  force  upon  the  hearts  of  their 
hearers.  It  was  a  real  thing  with  them  to  succeed.  It 
was  no  child's  play.  And  has  the  preacher  any  smaller 
stake?  Has  he  any  less  enduring  crown  in  view?  Should 
he  himself  have  less  feeling?  "^ 

(3.)  With  a  view  to  practical  results.  To  arouse  the 
feelings  and  stop  there  would  leave  the  conclusion  incom- 
plete. The  ultimate  object  of  every  sermon  is,  something 
to  be  done.  In  theatrical  performance  it  is  simply  something 
to  he  enjoyed.  The  end  of  histrionic  art  is  the  excitement 
•of  the  emotions,  and  nothing  beyond  it;  but  here  is  where 
the  preacher  begins.  All  the  foregoing  discussion  and 
conclusion  —  in  short,  the  entire  eiFort  of  the  sermon — is 
only  preparatory  to  a  stirring  of  the  emotions,  and  to  an 
appeal  that  will  induce  the  hearers  to  do  a  certain  thing. 
Of  what  avail  is  it  that  our  hearers  be  made  to  w^eep  over 
their  sins,  and  over  the  destitution  and  wretchedness  of 

1  "  Those  who  have  the  least  character  have  the  most  abundant  fiow  of  tears.  Tears 
are  the  natural  expression  of  infancy  and  paralysis.  *  =■=  *  *  Infirmity  of  the  lachryin.<il 
glands  is  not  numbered  among  tlie  Christian  graces."  —  Phelps, 

2  Homilctics,  pp.  437,  43S. 


^yS  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

others,  without  a  determination  to  make  an  effort  to  con- 
quer their  bosom  sins,  or  to  relieve  human  suffering  by 
ahiis  and  deeds  of  mercy?  The  emotion  of  the  worship- 
ers must,  by  the  force  of  appeal,  be  brought  to  the  test 
of  executive  action,  before  the  preacher's  object  is  accom- 
plished. The  hearer  must  be  made  better,  even  though  he 
should  not  understand  all  that  the  discourse  contained.  It 
is  said  of  a  poor  woman  who  worked  in  a  wool-mill,  and 
who  was  accustomed  to  walk  a  long  way  to  attend  the 
services  of  a  godly  minister,  but  could  not  remember  his 
sermons,  that  when  her  neighbors  would  taunt  her  on  ac- 
count of  her  defective  memory  she  would  reply,  "  Do  you 
see  the  wool  that  I  am  washing?  It  keeps  none  of  the 
water,  but  it  is  always  growing  whiter;  but  I  would  fain 
hope  that  I,  too,  am  growing  whiter."  ^  This  is  the  effect 
which  every  sermon  should  have  upon  the  hearer.  A 
sermon,  however  elegant,  that  does  not  lift  a  soul  nearer 
to  God,  is  not  worth  the  name  of  a  sermon.  It  should  im- 
part not  only  instruction,  but  character.  "  JSTot  only  are 
words  to  be  transmitted  and  repeated;  a  life  is  to  be  commu- 
nicated."^ John  Livingston,  no  doubt,  felt  this  when  live 
hundred  souls  were  converted  as  the  fruits  of  one  of  his 
sermons. 

In  arousing  the  conscience,  feelings,  and  executive  ac- 
tions of  the  hearer,  we  may  succeed  best  by  appealing 
to  the  various  intuitions,  emotions,  affections,  and  desires 
of  the  soul,  such  as  the  sense  of  right,  of  duty,  of  honor^ 
of  self-respect,  or  of  patriotic  instinct,  courage  and  con- 
stancy  in  affliction,  or  firmness  in  temptation,  love  and 
gratitude  to  God,  hope  of  happiness  or  fear  of  condemna- 
tion, sympathy  for  suffering  humanity,  admiration  for  the 
true,  the  beautiful,  and  the  good,  etc.,  through  which  man's 

I  See  BlaiUip,  p.  195. 

a  Viaet,  quotc-d  by  lloppin,  Office  and   Work  of  the  Cliruilidn  Miiusiry,  p.  190. 


Material  for  Conclusion.  379 

higher  nature  is  most  easily  approached  at  moments  of 
great  pending  issues.  Let  all  such  appeals,  however,  be 
very  brief;  for  none  of  these  dispositions  will  bear  long- 
winded  appeal.^ 

The  application,  whether  in  the  form  of  inferences,  re- 
marks, or  appeal,  should  be  indioidual,  yet  not  jpersonal.  "It 
is  not  upright  in  a  preacher,  either  from  fear  of  man,  or 
from  a  false  kindness,  to  shrink,  in  the  peroration,  from  a 
plain  and  solemn  application  of  the  subject  of  his  dis- 
course;"^ but  "the  more  completely  truth  is  so  exhibited 
that  conscience  is  compelled  to  do  its  own  work  in  making 
the  application  to  individuals,  the  stronger  and  the  better 
is  the  impression  produced;  just  as  two  persons,  standing 
before  a  portrait-painting,  are  said  each  to  feel  a  deeper 
interest  in  it  by  supposing  that  it  looks  at  himself.''  ^  Jeremy 
Taylor,  in  his  "Advice  to  the  Clergy,"  says,  "In  the 
reproof  of  sin,  be  as  particular  as  you  please  and  spare  no 
man's  sin,  but  meddle  with  no  man's  person.  Neither  name 
any  man,  nor  signify  him,  nor  make  him  to  be  suspected. 
Every  minister,  in  reproof  of  sin  and  sinners,  ought  to- 
concern  himself  in  the  faults  of  those  that  are  present,  but 
not  the  absent." 

To  the  beginner,  no  part  in  the  composition  of  the  ser- 
mon is  so  difficult  as  the  application;  for  to  make  it  effect- 
ive requires  an  extended  experience  with  the  world  and 
with  human  life  in  its  various  phases.  The  preacher  must 
study  his  own  heart,  and,  especially,  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers,  by  familiarizing  himself  with  their  experiences  in 

1  "There  are  three  sorts  of  dispositions,  or  emotions,— the  violent,  the  tender,  and 
the  elevated.  The  violent  are,  for  example,  fear,  zeal,  courage,  firmness  against  tempta- 
tion, repentance,  self-loathing,  etc.  The  tender  emotions  are  joy,  consolation,  gratitude; 
tender  subjects  are  pardon,  pity,  prayer,  etc.  The  elevated  are  admiration  of  the  maj- 
esty of  God,  the  ways  of  Providence,  the  glory  of  paradise,  the  expectation  of  benehts, 
etc."— Claude's  Esany  on  the  Composition  of  a  Sermon,  with  alterations  and  improvements 
by  Chas.  Simeon,  p.  312. 

2  ShecM  .<  Ilomddics  and  P.i.-itoral   Theology,  p.   207. 

3  Porter's  Lecture^  on  liomUeticn,  p.  ItJU. 


380  The  Pi'eacliey  and  His  Soinon. 

sickness  and  in  health,  in  joy  and  in  sorrow,  and  with  all 
their  trials  and  dispositions  in  the  ordinary  occupations  of 
life,  in  order  to  understand  the  intricate  mazes  of  human 
life,  and  apply  the  truth  effectively  to  individual  cases. 

May  the  conclusion  be  composite, —  that  is,  consist  of 
recapitulation,  inferences,  remarks,  and  appeals  combined? 
This  depends  on  circumstances.  Some  discussions,  as 
those  of  a  hortatory  luxture,  do  not  require,  in  the  con- 
clusion, any  recapitulation  or  inference,  but  may  close  with 
some  striking  remark  or  appeal;  while  a  very  argumenta- 
tive or  abstruse  discourse  may  conclude  with  all  the  forms, 
beginning  with  recapitulation  and  ending  in  a  strong  appeal 
to  the  feelings.  JSTo  uniform  rule  can  be  given  except  that 
which  governs  the  design  of  a  conclusion.  Whatever 
method  will  aid  most  in  impressing  the  object  of  the  ser- 
mon most  effectually  upon  the  hearer  is  the  best  method. 
One  should  try  to  make  the  conclusion  sympathetic  with 
the  discussion,  whether  by  recapitulation,  inference,  re- 
mark, or  appeal,  one  or  all,  as  may  be  requisite  to  evolve 
most  richly  the  applicatory  force  of  the  whole  sermon. 

Thej^?za^  ivords  of  a  conclusion  \\\\xy  consist  of  a  scripture 
passage, —  either  the  text  (showing  thereby  that  We  have 
not  lost,  but  developed  the  text),  or  a  parallel  or  cognate 
text;  or,  perluips,  an  appropriate  stanza  of  a  hymn;  or  a 
ehort  praj'er,  or  a  benediction,^ 

§    IV.       IMPllOPEIl    MATERIAL    FOR    CONCLUSION. 

It  is  out  of  keeping  with  the  design  of  the  conclusion  to 
introduce  into  it  any  matter  which,  for  some  reason,  was 
rejected  from  the  introduction  or  discussion,  and  reservcil 
for  the  close  as  tlie  only  })lace  of  utilizing  such  cast-off 
material.      The  importance  of  closing  words  demands  the 

I  "The  Roman  and  French  Catliolica  sometimes  conclude  with  the  punijihiMSf  of 
eome  psalm.  See  Bourdaloue  on  '  Riches,'  Massillon  on  the  '  Resurrection  of  Lazarus," 
and  Abbe  PouUe  on  '  Heaven.'  "— Ilervey's  ChriMaii,  Rhetoric,  p.  'S60. 


General  Character  of  the   Conchisiofi.  381 

choicest  and  most  pungent  thoughts  that  can  issue  from 
the  discussion,  and  not  the  gleanings  of  a  finished  work» 

It  is  also  improper  to  announce  the  manner  of  closing,, 
m  such  words  as,  "I  shall  now  close  with  an  earnest  exhor- 
tation;" or,  "A  few  words  of  close  application  shall  now 
end  this  discourse."  If  the  conclusion  has  any  merit, 
peo[>le  will  see  it  without  forewarning;  and  if  it  has  none, 
both  the}'  and  we  would  feel  mortified  at  the  disappoint- 
ment. 

Another  item  of  advice  is,  be  sparing  in  the  use  of  im- 
proper appellations  or  endearing  titles,  such  as  Dr.  Payson 
often  used  in  the  pulpit, — "  Professors,"  or,  "My  professing 
friends;"  and  sucli  as  President  Davies  sometimes  used  in 
addressing  his  hearers, — "  Sirs."  Sometimes  it  is  proper 
to  use  aft'ectionate  titles;  as,  "Dear  hearers,"  "Dear  friends," 
"Dear  brethren,"  "Beloved  in  the  Lord,"  and  the  like; 
but  when  they  become  habitual  they  impair  the  force  of 
appeal,  and  degenerate  into  mere  forms. 

§    V.       GENERAL    CHARACTER    OF    THE    CONCLUSION. 

1.  It  should  be  exjoressed  in  clear,  unaffected,  and  simple 
language.  It  is  to  be  supposed  that  in  the  conclusion  the 
preacher  is  too  earnest  and  sincere  to  be  very  fastidious 
about  verbal  expression,  and  that  the  hearer  is  too  mucti 
interested  to  be  disposed  to  criticise  his  language.  Yet  his 
words,  though  not  artistically  exact,  should  not  be  care- 
lessly faulty,  but  the  free,  natural,  spontaneous  expression 
of  a  fflowino;  heart.  AYith  the  idea  in  mind  that  a  conclu- 
sion  should  be  the  best  part  of  a  sermon,  some  young 
preachers  will  mistake  grandiloquence  for  eloquence;  they 
will  tiy  to  be  rhetorically  fine,  indulge  in  archaic  diction 
and  elaborate  metaphors  and  rhythmical  constructions, 
thereby  showing  that  the  head  has  labored  more  than  the 
heart  in  producing  an  eftect.      The  arts  of  tinsel-rhetoric 


382  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

are  unbecoming  in  all  parts  of  a  religious  discourse,  but 
more  so  in  the  conclusion,  where  the  preacher  is  to  utter 
words  that  are  to  ring  in  the  ears  when  his  voice  is  silent. 
"I  thought  your  concluding  sentences  very  ■pretty,'^  was 
offered  as  a  compliment  to  a  j'outhful  preacher  who  had 
just  finished  a  sermon  on  the  Day  of  Judgment.  The 
conclusion  of  that  sermon,  in  point  of  simplicity  and  real 
effect,  was,  of  course,  a  failure. 

2.  It  should  be  doqueiithj  delivered.  In  speaking  of  the 
peroration,  Quintilian  says,  "  Here,  if  ever,  it  is  proper  to 
open  all  the  fountains  of  eloquence.  *  *  *  *  Having 
weathered  the  shallows  and  breakers,  we  may  spread  full 
eail,  and  according  to  the  chief  design  of  a  peroration,  we 
may  give  free  scope  to  magnificence  in  sentiment  and  lan- 
guage." The  conclusion  ought  to  be  the  most  pungent 
and  impressive  part  of  the  sermon.  Its  delivery  ought  to 
be  characterized  by  the  utmost  intensity,  energy,  vivid- 
ness, and  motion.  If  the  discussion  has  been  converging 
toward  some  great  purpose,  and  the  preacher  is  what  he 
ought  to  be  in  heart,  and  in  sympathy  with  the  truth  and 
with  men,  the  awful,  critical  moment  when  the  verities  of 
truth  are  to  be  applied  in  their  intensity  to  men's  hearts 
and  consciences,  the  moment  that  may  decide  their  eternal 
destinies,  will  inspire  him  with  a  glow  of  thought  and 
feeling  that  is  irrepressible,  and  that  will  give  vent  to 
"  thoughts  that  breathe,  and  words  that  burn." 

3.  It  should  not  be  too  long.  It  is  great  wisdom  to  know 
when  to  stop,  so  as  not  to  become  tedious.  The  great 
danger  in  extemporaneous  preaching  is  excessive  length  of 
the  conclusion.  The  preacher  sometimes  feels  that  hia 
efibrt  has  been  a  failure,  and,  in  order  to  redeem  himself, 
before  he  closes  he  will  try  to  produce  some  effect  by 
struggling  for  new  thoughts  here  and  there,  renewing  and 
repeating  again  and   again   his  vain  attempts,  and  thua 


General  Character  of  the   Conclusion.         383 

spinning  out  the  conclusion  until  lie  is  bewildered  and 
exhausted,  and  his  hearers  are  weary  in  waiting  for  him  to 
stop.  If  the  discussion  has  been  labored  and  unsuccessful, 
and  no  inspiration  comes  in  the  conclusion,  then  the  sooner 
he  stops  the  better.  The  best  discourse  should  have  no 
longer  conclusion  than  is  needful  to  make  a  deep  impres- 
sion. The  feelings  of  the  hearer  will  not  continue  intense 
for  any  considerable  length  of  time.  iTothing,  says  Cicero, 
-dries  up  sooner  than  tears. 

4.  It  should  not  be  monotonous.  One  of  the  great 
faults  of  the  conclusion  is  monotony  of  form, —  always 
•ending  in  the  same  way,  or  addressing  the  same  class  of 
hearers. 

5.  Should  a  jpart  of  every  conclusion  he  addressed  to  the 
unconverted?  Not  necessarily.  The  particular  design  of 
the  discourse  must  determine  what  class  to  address.  If 
the  object  of  the  sermon  be  the  conversion  of  the  sinner, 
not  only  a  part,  but  the  entire  burden  of  application  must 
be  directed  toward  him  alone.  If  the  object  is  to  edify  the 
Christian,  or  to  enforce  some  particular  duty,  the  conclusion 
must  be  faithfully  devoted  to  this  object.  We  have  no 
right  to  divert  the  drift  of  the  discourse  at  its  terminus, 
or  to  cripple  the  final  impression,  by  deserting  the  subject 
for  the  sake  of  addressing  the  sinner,  except  under  very 
peculiar  circumstances.  Besides,  the  sermon  may  be  of 
such  a  nature  that  both  classes  of  hearers  will  be  equally 
benefited  in  the  conclusion;  for,  as  Broadus  says,  "A  ser- 
mon addressed  throughout  to  pious  people  will  often  spe- 
cially instruct  and  impress  the  unconverted,"  and  vice  versa.. 
Still,  there  are  subjects  and  times  when  both  classes  may 
be  directly  and  separately  addressed  in  the  same  conclu- 
sion; and  in  such  cases  lioppin  says,  "  We  should  address 
those  first  who  are  most  favorably  disposed,  and  therefore, 


384  TJie  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

cceteris  paribus,  we  sliould  address  the  converted  before  the 
unconverted."  ^ 

§    VI.      SUGGESTIONS    ON   THE    COMPOSITION   OF   THE    CONCLUSION, 

The  transition  from  discussion  to  conclusion  is  really  a 
transition  from  the  intellect  to  the  heart,  or  from  the  more 
argumentative  process  to  the  emotional  mood  of  pathetic 
exhortation.  In  preparing  for  the  composition  of  the  con- 
clusion the  sermonizer  must  therefore  adjust  himself  ta 
this  transduction.  He  will  now  quit  the  cold  field  of  dia- 
lectical research,  and  betake  himself  to  the  warmer  climate 
of  human  feelings. 

Before  beginning  to  compose  the  conclusion  it  is  impor- 
tant to  bring  the  heart  into  full  sympathy  with  the  conclud- 
ing thought.  The  discussion  will  prepare  the  way  for, 
but  not  always  produce,  this  state  of  soul-quickening. 
After  accumulating  strength  for  the  conclusion  from  the 
construction  of  the  main  body  of  the  sermon,  and  estimat- 
ing its  bearing  upon  the  object  to  be  enforced  in  the  con- 
clusion, we  should  pause  long  enough  to  muse  upon  the 
whole  matter  until  it  burns  within  us.  This  is,  so  to  speak, 
boiling  down  the  sermon  to  a  point.  At  the  degree  of 
blood-heat  we  may  begin  composition.  This  will  be  a  pro- 
pelhng  power,  making  the  movement  of  thought  in  the 
conclusion  to  sparkle  with  life  and  glow  with  intensity. 
It  miofht  be  well  sometimes  to  write  out  the  conclusion 
and  commit  it  to  memory,  or  in  some  way  so  forcibly  im- 
press it  on  the  mind  that  it  will  be  uppermost  in  the  mind 
during  delivery  in  the  pulpit. 

Since  the  conclusion  is  the  crowning  part  of  the  sermon, 
it  should  be  composed  during  our  happiest  moments  and 
best  moods.  If  the  mind  be  wearied  after  completing  the 
discussion,  the  finishing  of  the  conclusion  should  be  post- 

I  UomiLetics,  p.  435. 


Coinposition  of  the   Conclusion.  385 

poned  to  some  future  day.  If  we  should,  at  any  time, 
enjoy  an  unusual  degree  of  inspiration,  whether  engaged 
in  preparing  our  argument  or  not  engaged  at  all,  let  us,  by 
all  means,  allow  the  conclusion  to  share  the  benefit  of 
such  inspiration  by  turning  to  it  at  once,  as  the  most  auspi- 
cious time  for  preparing  the  most  impressive  and  enduring 
part  of  the  sermon. 

25 


Part  III. 


Part  III. 

PRACTICAL. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PULPIT  ELOQUENCE. 

What  It  Is  Not  —  What  It  Is  —  How  to  Produce  Eloquence. 

Eloquence  is  the  art  of  persuading  men  to  do  or  not  to 
do  a  certain  thing.  It  is  not  concerned  with  the  intellectual 
methods  of  explanation  and  conviction,  but  with  the 
process  of  persuasion.  The  object  of  our  preaching  is  not 
accomplished  when  we  have  sufficiently  explained  or 
proved  the  truth  to  our  hearers,  or  even  when  we  have 
gain.ed  their  approval  of  what  we  say;  we  must  move 
them  to  act, —  to  yield  to  the  truth  by  obeying  its  teach- 
ings; we  must  sway  the  will,  and  turn  the  affections;  we 
must  not  only  instruct,  but  incite;  not  only  make  a  man 
eee  his  duty,  but  lead  him  to  do  it;  in  short,  we  must  per- 
suade, must  produce  acts  of  repentance,  faith,  conversion, 
must  "  bend  men  to  action  "  by  presenting  such  motives  as 
will  stir  their  hearts,  move  their  wills,  and  thus  constrain 
them  by  force  of  inward  emotions  to  actually  change  their 
aflections  and  acts,  and  bring  them  into  vital  union  with 
the  true  Christian  life  of  our  Great  Example, 

This  is  the  most  crucial  task  in  the  art  of  preaching. 

We  can  usually  convince  men  of  the  claims  of  the  gospel, 

389 


390  The  Preacher  a7id  His  Sej^moji. 

and  conduct  their  faith  whither  we  will,  until  we  reach  a 
certain  point  —  the  almost  impassable  gate  of  iron  will  — 
the  transition  point  from  faith  to  action,  where  believing 
is  to  be  exchanged  for  doing.  This  point  many  will  reach 
in  an  hour,  but  halt  there  for  years,  perhaps  for  life;  and 
at  this  point  the  preacher  must  call  into  requisition  the 
whole  momentum  of  his  strength,  to  move  men  ofi"  their 
oases  of  sinful  repose.  This  is  the  work  of  persuasion, — • 
the  most  essential  part  of  the  sermon, —  and  should  engage 
the  earnest  attention  of  every  preacher  in  the  study  of  the 
best  methods  that  will  accomplish  the  results  desired. 

Persuasion  is  best  accomplished  by  the  use  of  such  mo- 
tives as  commend  themselves  to  conscience, — to  man's  sense 
of  duty  and  right.  A  motive  is  that  which  induces  to  free 
action;  for,  usually,  that  which  moves  a  man  to  do  volun- 
tarily a  certain  thing,  is  a  motive.  The  preacher,  of  course,. 
will  employ  the  highest  motives,  such  as: 

(a.)  Happiness.  Perhaps  more  men  act  from  this  mo- 
tive than  from  any  other.  Whether  of  a  temporal  or 
eternal  nature,  it  is  the  secret  which  furnishes  the  key  ta 
the  solution  of  most  of  the  problems  of  human  choice. 
Christianity  offers  the  inducement  to  a  righteous  life,  that 
a  good  man,  as  a  general  rule,  has  more  enjoyment  than  a 
bad  man,  "  having  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of 
that  which  is  to  come." 

(h.)  Goodness.  Nature  has  implanted  in  every  heart  at 
least  a  desire  to  be  good.  Even  the  most  wicked  are  not 
insensible  to  its  influence,  and  often  covet  the  noble  char- 
acter they  see  in  others;  while  the  good  are  inspired  by  the 
contemplation  of  superior  goodness  above  and  beyond 
them.  Moreover,  the  blessedness  of  the  holiness  of  God, 
especially  when  contrasted  with  the  natural  results  of 
wickedness,  is  a  powerful  motive  in  persuading  men  t^ 
seek  purity  and  holiness  of  life. 


Pulpit  Eloqtience.  391 

(c.)  Duty.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  highest  motive,  since 
it  has  its  seat  in  the  conscience,  and  appeals  to  the  ethical 
nature.  "  We  can  not  help  acknowledging  the  rightness 
of  the  right,  the  wrongness  of  the  wrong.  We  are  so 
formed  that  we  must  feel  that  we  ought  to  do  right;  and 
here  is  the  ground  of  the  law  of  duty.  Here  is  its  great 
motive  of  persuasion.  The  doing  of  right  because  it  is 
right,  for  its  own  sake,  is  the  grand  motive  of  duty  to 
which,  as  preachers  of  righteousness,  we  can  and  should 
ever  appeal." 

{d)  Love.  Love  is  the  most  powerful  motive  in  sub- 
duing the  heart.  The  lower  order  of  love  between  man 
and  man  has  incited  men  to  the  most  daring,  heroic  acts 
of  self-sacrifice.  Its  influence  has  been  the  source  of  a 
multitude  of  charities,  and  made  the  earth  bloom  as  under 
the  most  genial  sun.  But  the  divine  love  of  God,  as  re- 
vealed through  the  Son,  and  concentrated  upon  the  cross, 
is  the  greatest  motive-power  in  the  world.  It  is  the 
center  of  gravity  in  the  moral  universe.  It  is  the  silent, 
potent  power  by  which  Christ  draws  all  men  to  him. 
The  gospel  of  universal  love,  faithfully  preached,  is  an 
irresistible  power,  before  which  the  most  stubborn  heart 
will  yield;  and  if  it  will  not  conquer  man's  will,  he  is 
almost  beyond  the  hope  of  recovery. 

Preachers  who  are  eloquent  in  the  pulpit,  usually  employ 
these  motives  to  persuasion ;  but  not  all  who  understand 
and  use  these  motives  are  eloquent.  There  must  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  speaker  a  certain  nature  which  not  only 
instinctively  discerns  the  highest  motives,  but  presents 
them  most  eloquently.  Hence  the  great  secret  of  persua- 
sion lies  in  the  degree  of  eloquence  with  which  the  truth 
is  proclaimed. 

The  subject  of  eloquence  has  been  so  much  discussed, 
both  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  that  a  review  of  the 


392  The  Preacher  a7td  His  Sermon. 

various  opinions  held  and  advocated  would  fill  a  large 
volume.  Yet  with  an  abundance  of  good  literature  on 
eloquence,  we  have  few  truly  eloquent  orators,  because 
speakers,  though  they  generally  study  its  philosophy,  neg- 
lect its  proper  cultivation.  Theory  without  practice  is 
worthless.  The  reason  that  many  are  deficient  in  this  art 
s,  that  they  undervalue  its  importance.  In  the  pulpit 
it  is  everything, — the  sum  total  of  ministerial  excellencies, 
the  chief  qualification,  to  which  all  other  clerical  attain- 
ments are  subservient.  Of  what  use  were  teaching  without 
the  persuasive,  moving  power?  An  essay  or  a  book  may 
contain  all  the  matter  necessary  to  salvation.  The  Bible, 
in  this  respect,  is  all  that  might  be  required ;  but  God  fore- 
saw that  it  needed  the  embodiment  of  personal  power. 
The  message  must  have  a  messenger;  truth  must  become 
incarnate,  must  be  vitalized  by  a  living  spirit,  and  be  pre- 
sented to  depraved  humanity  by  flaming  tongues.  Hence, 
the  most  inspired  are  the  most  eloquent;  and  the  most 
eloquent,  the  most  powerful.  "Witness  Chrysostom,  "White- 
field,  Spurgeon,  and  Moody.  Besides,  the  object  which 
preaching  has  in  view  is  of  such  a  difiicult  nature  and  of 
such  momentous  importance,  that  it  demands  the  highest 
possible  human  skill  in  order  to  succeed.  This  grandest 
virtue  of  pulpit  power  is  eloquence. 

AYe  know  that  there  exists  in  the  minds  of  many  a  strong 
prejudice  against  the  cultivation  and  use  of  eloquence. 
There  are  men,  and  men,  too,  of  distinction  and  learning, 
such  as  Aristotle,  and  Kant,  wlio  set  a  very  low  estimate 
upon  eloquence,  and  would  even  have  nothing  to  do  witli 
it.  In  their  opinion,  it  is  clear  that  its  only  purpose  is  to 
excite  the  feelings,  which  is  always  useless,  and  sometimes 
injurious.  In  their  opinion,  we  should  address  the  wider- 
stavding  alone  by  stringent  arguments,  and  avoid  tlie  excite- 
ment of  the  feelings  and  tlie  influencing  of  the  will.     This 


Pulpit  Eloquence.  393 

prejudice  arises  from  a  misconception  of  the  nature  of  true 
eloquence.  We  admit  such  a  thing  as  spurious  eloquence, 
or  clap-trap  oratory,  that  rants  and  luxuriates  in  the 
wild  frenzy  of  a  madman,  and  tears  a  passion  into  tatters. 
"We  have  heard  of  speaking-machines,  that  run  according 
to  strict,  technical  rules  and  formulas,  or,  what  is  worse, 
with  an  artificial,  aflected  style  that  disgusts  men,  and  out- 
rages taste  and  common  sense.  But  it  is  always  easy  to 
tell  when  a  man  is  trying  to  "  play  the  orator,"  or  when 
he  is  constrained  by  a  true  eloquence  of  the  soul.  If  the 
world  were  nofafiiicted  with  such  false  representatives,  we 
should  never  have  heard  one  murmur  against  the  use  of 
oratory.^ 

Eloquence,  correctly  defined  and  applied,  is  the  grandest 
exhibition  of  human  nobility,  since  it  is  the  culmination 
of  all  the  good  in  man.  He  who  would  be  eloquent  must 
•develop  all  the  nobler  faculties  of  the  soul,  and  bring  them 
into  harmonious  unity.  It  may  prepare  us  to  receive  a 
■correct  conception  of  eloquence  if  we  first  consider  some 
of  the  erroneous  views  which  have  been  held  in  reference 
to  its  nature. 

I  So  prevalent  has  the  notion  of  Aristotle  become,  that  even  Whately,  in  hi3  Rhetoric, 
remarks,  "Whatever  is  attributed  to  the  eloquence  of  the  speaker,  is  so  much  deducted 
from  the  strength  of  his  cause.  *  *  *  *  And  accordingly  a  skillful  orator  seldom  fails  to 
notice  and  extol  the  eloquence  of  his  opponent."  Notice  this  in  the  speech  of  Antony 
over  the  dead  body  of  Ctesar : 

"  I  come  not,  friends,  to  steal  away  your  hearts: 

I  am  no  orator,  as  Brutus  is; 

But,  as  you  know  me  all,  a  plain  blunt  man, 

That  love  my  friend;  and  that  they  know  full  well 

That  gave  me  public  leave  to  speak  of  him: 

For  I  have  neither  wit,  nor  words,  nor  worth. 

Action,  nor  utterance,  nor  the  power  of  speech, 

To  stir  men's  blood;  I  only  speak  right  on; 

I  tell  you  that  which  you  yourselves  do  know; 

*  *  *  *  but  were  I  Brutus, 

And  Brutus  Antony,  there  were  an  Antony 
Would  ruffle  up  your  spirits  and  put  a  tongue 
In  every  wound  of  Csesar  that  should  move 
The  stones  of  Rome  to  rise  and  mutiny." 
Thus,  while  Antony  was  protesting  against  his  skill  as  orator,  he  unconssiously  exhib- 
ited the  grandest  specimen  of  eloquence. 


394  '^^'-^  Preacher  and  His  Sermo7i. 

§    I.       WHAT    IT    IS    NOT. 

1.  Eloquence,  is  not  poetry  only — a  sort  of  sentimeut  'tat 
seeks  only  to  please,  witli  no  higher  motive  than  the  gratifi- 
cation of  the  hearer.  Sach  a  type  of  oratory  may  suit  the 
Ingersolls  of  aesthetic  and  comic  fancy,  but  not  the  minister 
of  sober  truth.  It  may  possess  a  certain  charm  that  makes 
it  look  like  reality,  but  it  is  a  vision  without  a  substance. 
True  eloquence  may  have  poetic  beauty;  but  this  is  an  acci- 
dent, and  not  a  fundamental  quality. 

2.  Eloquence  is  not  expression  only.  A  copious  vocab- 
ulary, elegant  diction,  musical  intonation,  graceful  gesture, 
and  easy  delivery  are  but  the  external  drapery.  Hence,  to- 
begin  the  study  of  oratory  with  rhetoric  and  elocution  is 
putting  the  work  in  the  reverse  of  the  true  order.  It  is 
putting  leaves  and  blossoms  on  a  dead  tree.  As  in  vegeta- 
ble growth  the  inorganic  matter  is  changed  to  organic,  so 
in  eloquence  truth  must  become  galvanized  and  vitalized, 
incarnate  in  the  soul;  and  its  highest  development  was- 
witnessed  in  that  "Word"  that  "was  made  Hesh,"  and 
that  "spake  as  never  man  spake."  It  is  not  in  the  speech, 
but  in  the  man. 

o.  Eloquence  is  not  sensationalism.  When  men  try  to 
"  play  the  orator,"  without  possessing  the  qualities  of  an 
orator,  the  blunder  is  called  sensation.  The  sensatiomilist 
does  not  seek  to  persuade  because  of  a  personal  conviction, 
but  from  a  desire  to  please,  or  to  exhilarate,  or  to  startle, 
or  to  excite,  and  so  descends  from  the  lofty  position  of  elo- 
quence to  the  lower  level  of  sensationalism.  Losing  sight 
of  the  great  object  which  a  minister  should  have  in  view^ 
he  indulges  in  incoherent  ravings  and  extravagant  epithets, 
gives  exaggerated  descriptions,  and  magnifies  or  distorts 
features,  all  for  the  sake  of  etiect.  "  Such  a  one  may  sud- 
denly rise  to  popularity,  and  for  a  time  draw  a  crowd;  for 


What  It  Is. 


i95 


we  live  in  an  age  which  craves  the  sensational.  *  *  *  >f 
Trustees  of  embarrassed  churches  may  so  far  catch  the 
infection  of  our  times  as  to  look  for  a  minister  who  will 
fill  the  pews  by  some  sudden  rush,  and  bring  up  the  reve- 
nue to  a  flowing  surplus."  But  all  this  will  prove  disas- 
trous in  the  end.  The  attemj)t  to  express  and  describe 
what  we  never  felt  will  bring  dishonor  upon  the  cause  we 
represent,  and  in  time  drive  the  people  away  from  our 
churches.  There  is  but  one  attraction  which  it  is  safe  for  a 
minister  to  use:  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth, will 
draw  all  men  unto  me."  Let  him  adhere  to  that;  for  in  the 
end  it  will  prove  sufficient.  It  may  not  bring  the  crowd 
so  rapidly,  but  it  will  transform  them  as  they  come;  and 
they  will  come  to  stay. 

Some  men,  such  as  Dr.  Talmage,  by  their  natural  pecul- 
iarities, may  produce  what  might  be  described  as  sensa- 
tional efl:ects;  and  yet  it  would  be  unfair  to  call  them  sen- 
sational. Thus,  Whitefield,  in  depicting  the  danger  of  the 
blind  man,  did  it  so  graphically  that  even  the  cold  and 
phlegmatic  Chesterfield  was  compelled  to  relieve  his  feel' 
ings  by  crying  out,  "  Good  God,  he  is  gone."  That  was 
undoubtedly  a  sensational  eflect;  but  it  does  not  follow 
that  Whitefield  was  a  sensationalist.  The  truth,  rather,  i& 
that  Whitefield  had  a  sensational  hearer,  who  came  not  to 
be  benefited,  but  to  enjoy  the  eloquence  of  the  orator.^ 

§   II.      WHAT   IT   IS. 

Eloquence  is  spiritual  agitation,'^ — the  soul  in  motion;  soul 
in  motion  produces  soul-force;  and  soul-force  produces  soal- 

1  See  "  Sensationalism  in  the  Pulpit,"  by  Dr.  William  M.  Taylor,  in  North  American 
Beview,  February,  1879. 

2  Ministerial  power  "  is  spiritual  and  invisible.  *  *  *  *  Indeed,  power  is  in  its  nat- 
ure indescribable.  It  is  known  simply  by  its  results.  Gravitation,  that  greatest  of  all 
material  powers,  ceaselessly  active,  everywhere  potent,  is  wholly  beyond  our  research, 
or  even  our  conception.  Where  are  those  cords,  stronger  than  steel,  which  bind  the 
planets  to  their  centers?  *  *  '■'  *  Who  can  tell  what  is  power?  We  see  it  in  its  effects, 
we  measure  it  in  its  results.  So  with  spiritual  power." — Simpson's  Vale  Le-cturet,,  pp. 
202,  2U3. 


396  The  Pi'cachej'  and  His  Sernioit. 

heat.  This  is  eloquence.^  It  is  a  hidden  motion  within 
which  can  not  be  repressed.  "  Chains  can  not  bind  it. 
Mountains  can  not  bury  it.  It  thaws  through  the  most 
icy  habits.  It  bursts  from  the  lip.  It  speaks  from  the 
eye.  It  modulates  the  tone.  It  pervades  the  manner.  It 
possesses  and  controls  the  whole  man.  He  is  seen  to  be 
in  earnest;  he  convinces;  he  persuades."^  He  speaks  be- 
cause he  can  not  help  it,  as  did  the  prophet  when  he  said, 
"  His  word  was  in  mine  heart  as  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in 
my  bones,  and  I  was  weary  with  forbearing,  and  I  could 
not  stay;"  or  the  psalmist:  "  My  heart  was  hot  within  me; 
while  I  was  musing  the  fire  burned:  then  spake  I  with  my 
tongue."  Eloquence  is  a  magnetic  force,  which,  through 
the  aid  of  language,  disseminates  itself  through  the  entire 
mass  of  an  assembly  in  an  efiervescence  of  similar  feelings 
with  those  of  the  speaker,  who  is  charged  with  it  "  as  a  jar 
in  a  battery  is  charged  with  the  whole  electricity  of  the  bat- 

1  See  this  illustrated  in  model  orators.  Demosthenes  was  the  very  personification  of 
force,  as  if  he  had  been  raised  up  as  an  illustration  of  eloquence  for  all  ages.  Cicero 
was  superior  to  Demosthenes  in  genera!  learning.  Cicero  was  like  the  Amazon,  great  in 
all  its  windings,  and  on  the  whole,  the  broadest,  largest,  mightiest  river  in  the  world. 
Demosthenes  was  one  whole  Niagara,  whose  awful  thundering  flood  nothing  could  resist. 
Fox  exhibited  this  force.  What  was  the  secret  of  the  power  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham? 
Not  learning,  imagination,  cunning;  it  was  vehemence  — an  indomitable  energy  of  pur- 
pose to  carry  his  point.  In  Burke  there  was  the  want  of  that  fire,  and  hence  he  was  too 
loquacious,  abstract,  and  prosy.  Patrick  Henry  and  Fisher  Ames  are  illustrations  of 
force  and  warmth.  Their  burning  spirit,  manifested  in  the  eye,  cheek,  hand,  gave  their 
eloquence  a  power  before  which  enemies  quailed,  and  under  its  inSueuce  men  held  their 
breath  or  shouted  with  involuntary  applause.  The  leading  characteristic  of  Webster  was 
force. 

The  French  preachers  made  powerful  representations  of  the  majesty  and  awfulness 
of  God;  they  searched  and  harrowed  the  guilty  conscience;  they  struck  the  delicate 
chords  of  tenderness,  and  produced  a  shower  of  tears.  Saurin's  discourses  are  torrents 
of  fire.  .  While  the  French  pulpit  exhibited  force  of  feeliaq,  the  English  pulpit  exhibited 
force  of  thought.  Barrow  was  a  mine  of  rich  thought  — all  gold  and  pri-cious  stones. 
Jeremy  Taylor  was  a  wilderness  of  sweets.  liowe  was  serious  and  mighty  in  scripture. 
Tillotson  was  wise,  eloquent,  but  cold.  Baxter  was  heart-searching,  pungent,  and  some- 
times pathetic.  Whitefitld  had  a  deep,  experimental  perception  of  the  gospel  truth, 
and  an  almost  infinite  sense  of  its  importance.  The  truth  was  a  fire  in  his  bones.  Ed- 
wards was  eloquent,  but  in  a  different  way.  His  mind  was  of  crystal  clearness,  acute, 
logical,  ardent.  His  convictions  of  truth  were  as  decided  as  Whitvifield's.  He  wrote  his 
sermons  and  confined  himself  to  his  notes,  but  he  uncovered  men's  hearts,  l)ringing  out 
«vil  from  its  deepest  recesses.  —See  Dibliolher.a  Sacra. 

2  Adams,  in  Biblical  licposilory,  1812,  quotu<l  by  Kid.Uu-,  in  HomiUtics,  p.  408. 


What  It  Is.  397 

terj."  To  use  anotlier  figure,  the  man  of  eloquence  is  a 
player,  and  his  audience  an  instrument,  in  which  every 
soul  is  a  key,  and  every  heart  is  a  vibrating  chord.  There 
is  thus  produced  "a  certain  social  organism"  for  commu- 
nicating mutual  sympathy. 

1.  Eloquence  has  its  origin  in  the  soul.  He  that  has  a 
soul  has  also  the  elements  of  oratory,  as  surely  as  wood 
has  the  elements  of  combustion.  The  fire  is  within. 
True,  it  may  be  unkindled  and  uncultivated;  yet  it  needs 
only  to  be  stirred  up  by  some  external  object  not  itself. 
This  external  object  is  truth,^  which  is  the  complement  of 
the  soul  in  the  production  of  eloquence.  Where  there  is 
soul  and  truth,  there  are  also  the  factors  that  can  produce- 
genuine,  powerful  oratory.  But  there  may  be  soul  and 
there  may  be  truth,  and  yet  no  oratory,  just  as  there  may 
be  brimstone  and  wood,  and  yet  no  fire.  The  two  must 
grate  upon  each  other  before  they  can  ignite  and  cause 
combustion.  So  the  friction  between  soul  and  truth  pro- 
duces a  phenomenon  which  we  call  eloquence. 

Hence,  eloquence  is  not  a  natural  gift,  as  some  suppose^ 
any  more  than  moral  goodness  and  mental  attainments  are 
gifts  of  birth.  All  that  can  be  claimed  in  its  favor  is  the 
original  endowment  of  a  common  faculty  for  its  acquisition^ 
which  faculty  it  is  left  to  us  to  cultivate  to  any  degree  of 
perfection.  Soul,  as  the  capacity  for  eloquence,  is  a  divine 
gift;  truth,  its  external  correlate,  is  a  divine  creation;  but 
this  ego  and  non-ego  must  be  brought  into  powerful  rela- 
tionship and  juxtaposition  to  each  other  by  human  endeavor 
before  eloquence  can  manifest  itself.  Truth  must  be  clearly 
perceived,  deeply  felt,  forcibly  communicated.  Self-convic- 
tion  is   the  mainspring  of  eloquence,  resulting  from  the 


I  "  Eloquence  is  more  strictly  allied  to  truth  than  to  error,  to  good  than  to  evil.  Truth 
IS  in  itself  eloquent;  we  do  not  make  it  eloquent,  we  only  disclose  it;  truth,  in  whatever 
sense  we  take  the  word,  is  the  condition  and  smbstance  itself  of  eloquence." — Vinet> 
Homiletics,  p.  25. 


398  '^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

contact  of  soul  and  truth,  and  when  clearly  expressed 
"  extorts  attention  from  the  listless,  excites  the  thoughtful- 
ness  of  the  indift'erent,  and  kindles  the  emotion  of  the 
coldest  heart."^ 

Therefore,  eloquence  is  " '  truth  all  aglow,  *  *  *  *  truth 
felt  and  transferred  to  others;  it  is  the  transfer  of  the  ora- 
tor's consciousness  into  the  auditor's  consciousness,'  says 
D'Alembert.  *  *  *  *  It  is  the  vehemence  of  the  soul,  the 
onward,  sweeping  rush  in  a  channel  which  the  mind  has 
worn  into  a  subject,  and  which  it  is  continually  wearing 
deeper.  *  *  *  *  An  eloquent  mind,  then,  is  a  mind  under 
motion.  It  is  the  mind  moving  forward,  under  the  influ- 
•ence  of  clear  knowledge  and  deep  feeling,  with  constantly 
accelerated  motion  and  constantly  increasing  momentum, 
to  a  final  end,  which  is  always  a  practical  one.  Eloquence 
itself,  then,  is  thought  with  an  impulse  in  it,  thought  with 
a  drift  and  rush  in  it.  Eloquence  is,  as  one  instinctively 
denominated  it,  Si flood" ^ 

2.  But  you  ask,  "If  truth  is  the  great  factor  in  elo- 
quence, then  what  has  imagination  to  do  with  it,  which  is 
generally  considered  so  important  to  a  speaker?"  You 
remind  us  that  the  "  Iliad,"  "  ^neid,"  Dante's  "  Inferno," 
and  Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost,"  abound  with  the  most  elo- 
quent speeches,  and  yet  these  are  all  works  of  fiction.  We 
answer:  When  imagination  manufactures  only  phantoms, 
and  scatters  them  every-where  like  sky-rockets  —  when  it 
indulges  in  such  fire-works  of  fancy,  it  should  be  branded 
as  the  greatest  enemy  of  oratory.  But  this  is  a  perversion 
of  the  faculty.  Imagination  is  not  untruth.  It  does  not 
create  anything  which  has  not  its  prototype  in  some  object 
that  has  its  existence  somewhere  in  the  realm  of  actuality; 
or,  more  plainly,  every  picture  of  the  imagination   must 

I  Kidder's  Homilctics,  p.  401. 

a  Dr.  Shedd,  in  Introduciion  to  Thcroinin's  Si/ntemaiic  Rhetoric. 


How  to  Produce  Eloquence.  399 

have  truth  for  its  basis.  Its  province  is  not  to  create  de 
nihilo,  hut  to  present  truth  in  new  and  various  forms;  to 
combine  facts  in  a  way  in  which  they  never  existed  before. 
You  can  not  imagine  an  impossibility.  You  might  imag- 
ine the  sun  rising  from  the  West,  but  you  can  not  imagine 
two  straight  lines  inclosing  space.  The  imagination  has 
limits,  and  these  limits  must  be  somewhere  within  the 
bounds  of  truth.  The  plays  of  Shakespeare  find  their  re- 
alization in  human  nature.  The  poems  of  Virgil  and 
Homer  are  the  distant  echoes  of  scripture  facts;  for  recent 
writers  have  shown  how  the  mythology  of  the  ancients  is 
borrowed  from  our  Bible.  "  Paradise  Lost,"  and  "  In- 
ferno," are  Bible  truths  presented  in  new  and  fascinating 
ways.  It  is  truth  that  kindles  the  imagination  and  makes 
it  helpful  to  eloquence.  It  is  truth  that  awakens  the  emo- 
tions and  makes  them  helpful  to  eloquence.  It  is  truth  that 
stimulates  thought  and  makes  it  helpful  to  eloquence.  Im- 
agination, emotion,  thought,  all  inspire  eloquence;  but  these 
are  all  inspired  by  truth,  and  without  it  they  would  be  as 
lifeless  as  the  eye,  and  the  ear,  and  the  tongue,  without  the 
circulating  life-blood.  Take  truth  out  of  the  realm  of 
eloquence,  and  every  speaker  would  become  a  mummy,  a 
heartless,  lifeless  statue,  fit  only  for  the  museum,  and  not 
for  the  rostrum. 

§    III.       HOW    TO    PRODUCE    ELOQUENCE. 

We  have  examined  the  nature  of  eloquence,  and  consid- 
ered it  as  consisting  of  soul  and  truth,  not  in  the  passive, 
but  in  the  active  state.  The  important  inquiry  now  is, 
How  can  this  soul-action,  or  eloquence,  be  induced? 

1.  By  vivid,  vigorous  thought.  This  is  a  great  stimulant. 
It  quickens  soul  and  body  into  new  activity,  and,  like  a 
flint,  produces  vital  sparks  of  eloquence.  It  is  only  he  who 
clearly  grasps  his  subject  that  can  clothe  his  thoughts  in 


400  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

living  colors.  "  Leonardo  da  Yinci  had  in  his  mind  certain 
vivid  and  distinct  conceptions  of  the  Last  Snpper,  which,, 
with  his  pencil,  hy  light,  and  shade,  and  color,  he  exhibited 
in  his  celebrated  painting  in  the  Cathedral  of  Milan,  in 
forms  so  true  to  nature  that  the  spectator  could  hardly 
resist  the  impression  that  he  was  actually  gazing  upon 
breathing  bodies.  "What  light,  and  shade,  and  color  are 
to  the  painter,  such  are  words,  and  tones,  and  gestures  to 
the  orator." '  But  without  this  clear,  vivid  conception  of 
a  subject,  which  made  the  painter's  canvas  a  breathing 
expression  of  his  ideal,  the  speaker  can  not  impress  a  fac- 
simile of  his  thoughts  upon  the  hearer's  mind,  or  turn  hi& 
"  ears  into  eyes." 

Again,  the  heart  is  influenced  chiefly  through  the  intel- 
lect. "  Ko  one  is  moved  with  that  which  he  does  not 
understand  and  does  not  believe.  The  affections,  therefore, 
can  not  be  moved  unless  the  understanding  is  previously 
enlightened." 2  "If  Plato  had  reason  for  writing  over  the 
door  of  his  academy,  'Let  no  one  who  is  not  a  geometrician 
enter  here,'  the  orator  has  equal  reason  for  inscribing  upon 
the  rostrum,  Let  no  one  ascend  here  who  is  not  a  scholar 
and  a  thinker."  ^  Thought  arouses  the  soul  to  action,  and 
makes  it  scintillate  with  sparks  of  eloquence. 

2.  By  emotion  springing  from  genuine  sympathy.  If  the 
intellect  acts  upon  the  emotions,  the  emotions  in  turn  react 
upon  the  intellect,  and  this  reciprocating  influence  will 
intensify  rhetorical  action.  Whatever,  then,  can  excite 
the  emotions  in  a  benevolent  direction  will  aid  in  promot- 
ing religious  oratory.     To  this  end  there  must  be  — 

(1.)  Sympathy  with  the  truth.  Not  only  must  the  mind 
have  clear  views  and  firm  convictions  upon  the  teachings 
of  Revelation,  but  the  heart  must  admire  its  teachings,  fall 

1  Fowler's  English  Language,  p.  GG:i. 

2  Porter's  Lectures  on  Eloquence  and  Style. 

3  ShedU's  lutroductiou  to  Tliereuiin's  Hystcniaflc  lilietoric. 


How  to  Produce  Eloquence.         •         401 

in  love  and  union  with  its  precepts,  be  wedded  to  its  doc- 
trines, and  be  willing  even  to  suffer  for  its  defense.  Men 
will  become  entbusiastic  over  that  which  they  dearly  love, 
and  will  resent  everything  that  opposes  the  object  of  their 
affection.  To  one  who  loves  the  Bible,  the  contemplation 
of  the  doctrines  of  atonement,  salvation,  heaven,  enravishes 
the  heart,  and  fills  the  soul  with  deepest  love  for  their  Au- 
thor; while  sin  and  Satan,  together  with  all  evil,  become 
extremely  odious.  It  was  this  feeling  for  or  against  a 
doctrine,  causing  holiness  to  appear  exceedingly  holy,  and 
sin  exceedingly  sinful,  that  made  Whitefield  so  seraphic  in 
preaching. 

(2.)  There  must  be  sympathy  with  human  life.  There 
is  a  tendency  among  scientific  and  literary  men  to  study 
themes,  and  forget  men,  and  thus  is  prevented  a  warm 
sympathy  with  human  interests.  The  surgeon  probes  the 
wound,  as  indifferent  to  the  pain  which  it  causes  as  the 
instrument  which  he  handles.  "  The  geometrician  thinks 
only  of  his  problem,  while  cities  blaze  and  are  rav- 
aged before  him.  The  psychologist  has  the  same  kind  of 
interest  in  men  that  the  astronomer  has  in  stars,  the  chem- 
ist in  gases,  or  the  entomologist  in  insects.  *  *  *  *  There 
may  be  something  in  the  collegiate  training  which  con- 
tributes to  set  him  apart  from  men.  His  heart  does  not 
beat  back  the  beat  of  all  the  million  hearts  around  him." 

If  we  want  to  move  men  we  must  touch  the  mystic 
chord  of  sympathy  that  throbs  in  every  human  breast, 
"We  are  all  linked  together  by  common  interests,  by  sacred 
ties,  so  woven  into  the  web  of  humanity  that  what  one 
can  feel  another  must  feel;  tKat  joy  enkindles  joy,  sorrow 
begets  sorrow,  and  we  "  rejoice  with  them  that  do  rejoice, 
and  weep  with  them  that  weep."  Take  away  the  influence 
of  heart  upon  heart,  the  responsive  flow  between  soul  and 
eoul;  sever  the  mystic  chain  that  binds  child  to  parent, 


402  The  Pi'eacher  and  His  Ser'mon. 

kindred  to  home,  and  Lome  to  country;  break  the  electric 
current  that  girdles  the  world  in  one  common  brotherhood 
of  feeling  and  sympathy,  and  the  sacred  wand  of  eloquence 
would  be  forever  broken.  Yinet  says  that  eloquence  "  is 
the  power  of  making  the  primitive  chords  of  the  soul  (its 
purely  human  elements)  vibrate  within  us."  It  is  "the 
contact  of  man  with  man;"  and  hence  Broadus  thinks 
that "  it  is  impossible  to  be  eloquent  on  any  subject,  save 
by  associating  it  with  such  ideas  as  that  of  mother,  child, 
friends,  home,  country,  heaven,  and  the  like,"  because 
they  possess  an  interest  common  to  all. 

"  There  is  nothing  else  on  earth  so  great  as  human  life, 
and  nothing  whose  contact  is  so  inspiring.  There  was 
nothing  more  noticeable  in  Christ  than  his  intense  and 
constant  sympathy  with  human  life.  He  knew  how  great 
it  was,  for  he  had  created  it.  He  felt  how  great  it  was, 
for  its  mystery  filled  him.  He  sought  it  out  everywhere 
—  in  the  booth  of  the  publican  and  the  boat  of  the  fisher- 
man, in  the  fair  face  of  John  and  the  rough  mien  of 
Peter,  in  the  cottage  where  dwelt  the  sisters  w^hom  he 
loved,  and  under  the  disheveled  locks  of  the  penitent  who 
poured  her  tears,  more  odorous  than  the  ointment,  upon 
his  feet.  And  he  won  his  way  to  the  hearts  of  his  disci- 
ples, he  wins  his  way  now  to  the  barbarian  and  islander, 
to  the  poor  and  the  young,  to  the  deaf  and  the  blind,  be- 
cause all  feel  him  in  sympathy  with  them.  The  great 
requisite,  then,  for  an  orator  is  power  of  kindness,  a  tender 
and  sorrowful  sympathy  with  the  bereaved,  compassion 
for  the  poor,  the  unfortunate,  and  the  erring;  reverence 
for  true  nobleness  and  dignity  of  character,  admiration 
of  great  achievements  and  powers,  and  a  ready  appre- 
ciation of  every  excellence  in  others."  ^ 

I  Dr.  Storrs,  in  Bibliotheca  Sacra. 


How  to  Produce  Eloquence.  403 

"  8i  vis  mejlere,  dolendum  est 
Primum  ijpsi  tibi:  turn  tua  me  infortunia  laedent, 
Telephe  vel  Peleu;  male  si  mandata  loqueris, 
Aut  dormitabo  aut  ridebo"  ^ 
3.  By  the  character  of  the  speaker.  In  Christian  elo- 
quence the  chief  quality  is  not  action,  as  Demosthenes 
thouglit,^  but  the  lirst  and  the  second  and  the  third  quali- 
fication is  real,  moral  goodness.  The  fact  that  the  orator 
must  be  a  good  man  has  been  recognized  from  the  days  of 
Cicero  and  Quintilian  to  the  present  time.  Solon,  nearly 
six  hundred  years  before  Christ,  said,  "  Tbu  Ibjoij  etdioXov 
ehat,''' — the  discourse  is  the  image  of  the  conduct, —  and  it 
startles  you  as  if  inspiration  had  been  there,  when  you 
read  in  another,  "  Ut  vivat  quemque  etiam  dicere,^' — every 
man  speaks  as  he  lives.  The  discourse  is  the  exponent  of 
the  man.  The  preacher  is  the  sermon,  and  the  sermon  is 
the  preacher.  "  Could  any  one  have  stolen  Whitefield's 
sermon?  George  Whitefield  ivas  the  sermon;  it  was  in 
him  as  part  of  his  very  life,  and  his  word  was  therefore 
with  living  power."  ^  Why  do  Whitefield's  sermons  read 
60  poorly  in  print?  There  is  nothing  in  their  perusal  that 
would  secure  him  any  reputation  for  eloquence.  The  ex- 
planation is  that  there  was  a  holy  personality  behind  them 
that  fanned  his  utterances  into  a  living  flame, — a  weight  of 
character  which  could  not  be  transferred  to  paper.  It  is 
not  so  much  what  is  said  as  who  says  it,  that  makes  an 
impression.  "  JSTeither  cogent  reasoning,  nor  solemn  tones, 
nor  flowing  tears  can  have  influence  with  an  audience,  if 
we  are  known  to  be  other  than  men  of  integrity,  men  of 
truth,  men  of  honor,  men  who  are,  in  some  measure,  what 

1  If  you  wish  me  to  weep,  you  must  weep  first  yourself;  then  will  your  misfortunes 
grieve  me,  O  Telephus  or  Peleus ;  but  if  you  speak  badly  things  commanded  [or  commia- 
•sionedj,  I  shall  either  sleep  or  laugh.— Horace,  Ars  Poetica,  102-105. 

2  See  chapter  on  Elocution  and  Conduct  in  the  Pulpit,  p.  470. 

3  Parker,  in  Ad  Clerum. 


404  The  Preacher  ajtd  His  Sermon. 

they  say.  In  order  to  successful  eloquence,  then,  the- 
speaker  must  at  least  seem  good,  and  the  only  way  to  seem 
good  is  to  be  so."  Theremin,  in  his  excellent  treatise  ou 
"  Eloquence  a  Virtue,"  makes  eloquence  to  consist  exclu- 
sively of  ethical  laws,  and  makes  it  depend  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  speaker.  If  virtue  is  not  the  all  of  eloquence, 
it  is  a  large  part  of  it;  and  it  is  certainly  very  imperfect 
without  it.  Chrysostom  reduces  all  eloquence  of  preach- 
ing to  this  one  object  —  to  iilcase  God} 

4.  By  Christian  faith.  There  are  some  things  in  ChriS' 
tian  theology  that  can  never  reach  the  heart  through  the 
intellect,  inasmuch  as  they  are  beyond  the  ken  of  human 
reason.  The  thoughts  that  move  the  deepest  fountain  of 
the  soul ;  the  sublimest  truths  of  eschatology  that  can  in- 
spire human  spirits  with  holy  aspirations,  are  objects  of 
our  Christian  faith.  In  proportion  as  these  unseen  truths 
become  realities  in  the  speaker's  consciousness,  will  he  be 
eloquent.  He  believes,  therefore  he  speaks,  "  as  seeing  Ilim 
who   is  invisible." 

"  When  religious  truth  fades  out  of  view,  when  themes 
of  eternity  as  awful  verities  cease  to  stir  the  soul,  some- 
thing insincere,  artificial,  and  unreal  is  suggested  to  the 
hearer,  and  the  speaker  finds  himself  lifeless  and  inefficient. 
Unbelief  relaxes  the  nerves  of  oratory,  and  makes  one  an 
empty  declaimer  instead  of  a  })owcrrul  preacher.  It  re- 
quires the  electricity  of  faith  to  produce  sons  of  thunder. 
*  *  *  *  It  was  this  vivid  realization  of  the  spiritual  and 
unseen  that  gave  Brainerd  such  irresistible  power  over 
the  sons  of  the  wilderness.  Paul  always  spoke  of  eternal 
things  as  one  who  knew, — '  We  believe,  and  therefore  speak,' 
— and  prophets  uttered  their  terrific  maledictions  and  fore- 
told coming  glories  with  the  conviction  of  a  conscious  cer- 
tainty.     Grasp    the    truth  with  the  simple   but   gigantic 

I  Neaiider's  Life  oj  Chrysusluiii,  p.  73. 


Hozv  to  Produce  Eloquence.  405 

faith  of  a  patriarch ;  live  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  invisible 
when  its  ni^ht-stars  beam  steadily  upon  the  soul;  converse 
with  God,  like  Bunjan,  like  the  reformer  Knox,  like  the 
Puritan  Shepard;  penetrate  eternity  by  a  living  confidence 
in  its  revelations;  look  up  steadfastly  into  heaven,  like 
the  martyr  Stephen ;  see  Jesus,  and  there  will  be  an  ear- 
nestness, a  reality,  a  power  which  few  can  resist,"  ^ 

This  "  faith-talent,"  as  Dr.  Bushnell  calls  it,  makes  "  that 
^reat  orator,"  who,  Quintilian  said,  "  had  not  yet  appeared, 
but  who  may  hereafter  appear,  and  who  would  be  as  con- 
summate in  goodness  as  in  eloquence." 

5.  By  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Thought,  feeling, 
■sympathy,  character,  faith, —  these  are  the  key-notes  in  the 
musical  instrument  of  man's  spirit  that  fill  the  world  with 
"beauty  and  song,  with  powei'  and  with  piety;  but  behind 
it  all  there  is  an  unseen  force  that  gives  every  note  its  tone 
and  thrill.  It  is  said  that  "man  is  God's  lyre;  he  touches 
the  chords  and  plays  his  beautiful  tones."  But  without  the 
touch  of  the  divine  finger  no  melody  can  be  so  sweet  and 
strong  as  that  of  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  "  Men 
have  been  eloquent  in  the  senate,  on  the  field  of  battle. 
There  are  also  Homers  and  Miltons  and  Shakespeares  in 
the  world;  but  there  is  an  inspiration  which  neither  patri- 
otism, nor  genius,  nor  blood  can  furnish,  which  Urania 
and  Melpomene  never  felt.  It  is  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  This  is  the  nerve  and  energy  of  great  speech  " 
and  ponderous  thought.^ 

1  Dr.  Stearns,  in  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  with  variations. 

2  "  If  tlie  preacliing  of  ttie  gospel  is  to  exercise  a  .(jreat  power  over  mankind,  it  mus 
be  either  by  enlisting  extraordinary  men,  or  by  the  endowing  of  ordinary  men  with  ex- 
traordinary power.  It  does  often  happen  that  men  whose  eloquence  would  aflect  and 
sway,  whatever  might  have  been  their  theme,  give  all  their  talents  to  the  gospel ;  yet  in 
such  cases  it  ever  proves  that  the  religious  impression  produced  upon  mankind  is  never 
regulated  by  the  brilliancy  or  natural  force  of  the  eloquence,  bul  always  by  the  extent  to 
which  the  preacher  is  imbued  with  that  indescribable  something  commonly  called  the 
'  unction,'  or  the  operation  and  power  of  the  Spirit.  On  the  other  hand,  it  often  happens 
that  a  man  in  whose  natural  gifts  nothing  extraordinary  can  be  discovered,  produces 
XQoral  effects  which,  for  depth  at  the  moment,  and  for  permanency,  are  totally  dispro- 


4o6  TJie  Preacher  and  His  Sennon. 

The  united  co-operation  of  tliese  five  agencies — namely 
invigorating  thought,  which  is  the  soul's  vivid  perception 
of  truth;  a  tender  sympathy,  which  brings  soul  and  truth 
into  lively  contact,  producing  a  glow  of  emotion;  an  irre- 
proachable, holy  life,  which  makes  the  preacher  and  tlie 
truth  consistent  with  each  other,  precept  and  example  to 
correspond,  without  which  the  efi'ects  of  our  preaching  can 
not  be  powerful  and  permanent;  a  living  faith  in  the  testi- 
mony of  God,  which  brings  the  truth  of  unseen  realities 
into  the  immediate  presence  and  possession  of  the  soul; 
and  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit, —  a  supernatural 
influence  which  makes  the  preacher  more  than  a  natural 
orator,  investing  him  with  divine  power  that  makes  him  a 
conqueror  among  men, —  the  co-operation  of  all  these  great 
instrumentalities  is  essential  to  pulpit  eloquence.  Of  course, 
there  must  also  be  a  clear  expression  of  our  thoughts  and 
feelings  in  the  most  suitable  language, — which  will  be  dis- 
cussed in  the  following  chapters  on  Style,  Modes  of  Deliv- 
ery, and  Elocution. 

The  value  of  eloquence  in  the  pulpit,  and  the  importance 
of  its  cultivation,  can  not  be  overestimated.  Emersorb 
says  that  the  orator  is  a  man  who  possesses  eloquence,  not 
merely  in  the  quiet,  rural  district,  or  in  the  city,  guarded 
by  police  force,  or  in  broad  daylight,  and  under  the  eyes 
of  a  hundred  thousand  law-loving  and  law-abiding  people, 
but  who  upon  the  Atlantic,  in  a  storm,  can  infuse  reason 
into  men  disabled  by  terror,  can  bring  himself  ofl:"  safe  even 
among  thieves,  among  an  infuriated  populace,  and  among 
hungry  cannibals;  a  man  before  whose  fame  all  other 
fames  are  hushed;  whose  ability  is  to  alter  in  a  pair  of 
hours,  perhaps  in  a  half-hour's  discourse,  the  convictions 

portioned  to  his  natural  powers.  Let  but  this  baptism  descend,  and  thousands  of  us  ftho» 
up  to  this  day,  have  been  but  commoniilace  or  weak  ministers,  such  as  miglit  easily 
pass  from  the  memory  of  manldnd,  would  then  become  mighty."— Extracts  from  Ar- 
thur's Toiiijue  of  Fire,  py>.  07,  ;iOO. 


How  to  Produce  Eloquence.  407 

and  habits  of  years;  whose  eloquence  needs  no  bell  to  call 
the  people  together,  and  no  constable  to  keep  them;  which 
draws  tlie  children  from  their  play,  the  old  from  their  arm- 
chairs, the  invalid  from  his  warm  chamber;  which  holds 
the  hearer  fast;  steals  away  his  feet,  that  he  shall  not  de- 
part,—  his  memory,  that  he  shall  not  remember  the  most 
pressing  affairs, —  his  belief,  that  he  shall  not  admit  any 
opposing  considerations. 

"If  our  estate  or  life  were  suspended  on  a  judicial 
trial,  who  of  us  would  not  wish  for  an  eloquent  man  as 
our  advocate?  Why,  then,  if  the  soul  of  our  brother 
is  to  be  rescued  from  eternal  death,  should  we  not  wish 
the  emotions  of  the  gospel  to  be  addressed  to  him  by 
a  powerful  and  persuasive  eloquence?  The  ambition  of 
Philip,  the  treason  of  Catiline,  the  usurpation  of  Csesar, 
called  forth  strains  of  eloquence  which  have  been  the  ad- 
miration of  succeeding  ages.  Yet  those  subjects  were  trifles, 
fit  only  for  the  prattle  of  children,  compared  with  the  joy- 
ful and  dreadful  themes  that  employ  a  preacher's  tongue."^ 

1  Porter's  Lectures  on  Eloquence  and  Style,  p.  28. 


CHAPTER    II. 

STYLE. 

Primary  Qualities  of  Style  —  Secondary  Qualities — Means  of  Acquiring 

a  Good  Style. 

Style,  as  referring  to  discourse,  lias  been  variously  de- 
fined; ^  but  most  definitions  have  reference  either  to  lan- 
guage alone,  or  to  the  union  of  thought  and  language.  A 
true  definition  of  style,  however,  should  incUule  three 
ideas:  intellect  as  the  germ,  sensibility  as  the  circulating 
fluid,  and  language  as  the  development  or  outer  mani- 
festation of  these  two  faculties.  Hence,  men's  natural 
habits  of  expression  will  vary  according  to  their  different 
mental  idiosyncrasies,  and  style  is  therefore  an  exhibition 
of  character,  which  was  evidently  the  idea  of  Buftbn  when 
he  said,  "  The  style  is  the  man  himself."  ^  Style,  then,  is  the 
tri-unity  of  thought,  feeling,  and  language,  and  is  there- 
fore both  subjective  and  objective;  it  has  a  soul  as  well  as 
a  body,  intimately  and  inseparably  connected,  so  that  we 
can  not  speak  of  one  without  speaking  also  of  the  other. 
There  is  a  difl'erence,  as  well  as  an  identity,  between  words 
and  emotions  and  thoughts.  "  Thoughts  and  feelings  are 
the  sons  of  God,  and  words  are  the  daughters  of  men;" 

I  "  style  is  the  incarnation  of  thought." — Wordsworth.  "  Style  is  the  way  in  which 
a  man  expresses  his  conceptions  by  means  of  hmmiage."— Blair  and  Beattie.  "  Treats  of 
the  expression  of  thought  in  language,"  and  is  "the  verbal  body  of  thought." — Da*. 
"  Proper  words  in  proper  places  make  the  true  definition  of  style." — Swift.  ""The  maa- 
ner  of  writing  with  regard  to  language,  or  the  choice  and  arrangement  of  words.' 
ster. 

3  Diseours  sur  le  Style. 

408 


Style.  409 

still,  practically,  tliey  are  so  wedded  to  each  other  by  mu- 
tual relations  in  the  composition  of  human  nature  that 
they  are  one.  The  kind  of  thought,  the  manner  of  feel- 
ing, and  the  way  of  expressing  these  two,  constitute  a 
preacher's  style.^ 

With  this  definitive  idea  as  the  basis  of  style,  what  then 
should  be  its  most  general  character?  The  model  conver- 
sational style  is  the  model  pulpit  style.  How  do  men  who 
are  gifted  in  this  art  naturally  express  themselves  on  top- 
ics of  interest,  when  they  meet  face  to  face,  in  familiar 
conversation?  The  reason  why  so  many  fiiil  in  holding 
the  attention  of  a  congregation,  is  because  in  preaching 
they  speak  in  a  manner  so  strange  and  foreign  to  their 
usual  mode  of  communication,  that  it  almost  seems  to  the 
hearer  like  a  strange  tongue.  Preachers  are  apt  to  fall 
into  a  pedantic  pulpit  dialect,  and  to  preach  at  the  people 
instead  of  preaching  to  them.  The  well-known  pastor, 
who  speaks  so  interestingly  in  the  families  he  visits,  is  quite 
another  man  on  Sundays.  Like  the  servant-girl  who  has 
one  dress  for  the  kitchen  and  another  for  the  church,  so 
the  preacher  has  one  style  for  the  parish  and  another  for 
the  pulpit.  To  his  well-known  parishioners  he  must  ap- 
pear in  a  mask,  strange,  unnatural,  stiff.  The  preacher 
should  talk  to  the  people  plainly,  familiarly,  forcibly, 
easily.  Preachers  who  were  and  are  powerful  in  the  pul- 
pit, such  as  Robertson,  Spurgeon,  and  Moody,  are  noted 
for  this  style. 

When  we  recommend  the  conversational  style,  we  do 
not  mean  that  public  and  private  conversation  shall  be  alike 

I  "Style  *  =■'  *  *  is  composed  of  two  elements:  first,  of  something  independent  of  tlie 
man  himself,  and  common  to  all  men,  namely,  language;  and,  secondly,  of  something 
which  depends  upon  the  man  himself,  and  his  relations  to  those  things  which  iufluenco 
his  style;  in  other  words,  there  are  certain  properties  of  style  which  are  essential,  and 
which  chiefly  relate  to  language;  and  there  are  other  properties  which  are  originated,  or, 
at  least,  colored,  by  the  individual  thought  and  mind  of  the  writer,  and  by  all  his  rela- 
tions to  other  minds  whom  he  addresses.  These  have  been  called  the  absolute  and  the 
■relative  properties  of  style." — Hoppin's  Homiletics,  p.  724. 


4IO  TJie  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermon. 

in  every  respect.'  The  theory  must  be  adapted  to  its  pecul- 
iar function,  as  rhetoric  is  adapted  to  preaching.  In  con- 
versation we  speak  to  the  few;  in  preaching,  to  the  manv;. 
in  the  former  we  have  a  rejoinder,  and  alternately  become 
speaker  and  hearer;  in  the  latter  we  become  spokesman  of 
all.  The  difference  between  the  two  is  not  in  the  instru- 
ment, "  but  simply  a  higher  or  lower  range  on  the  same 
instrument."  2  The  theory  is,  that  the  pulpit  style  be 
essentially  conversational, — the  preacher's  natural  way  of 
thinking,  feeling,  and  speaking,  excluding  the  conven- 
tionalities of  a  common  colloquy,  and  including  the  grander,, 
richer,  and  fuller  wings  of  powerful  eloquence. 
We  shall  speak  of  style  more  in  detail. 

§    I.       PRIMARY    QUALITIES    OF    STYLE. 

Writers  have  recommended  many  and  various  properties- 
as  belonging  to  good  style.  We  shall  distinguish  between 
those  that  are  fundamental,  and  such  as  are  important  but 
not  essential.  We  proceed  in  the  order  of  their  impor- 
tance. 

I.     Perspicuity. 

There  are  three  prime  qualities  of  style, —  perspicuity ,^ 
energ}',  beauty;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  perspicuity. 
"  Nobis  prima  sit  virtus  perspicidtas.'"  ^ 

Perspicuity  means,  in  a  most  literal  sense,  transparency y 
and  signifies  such  felicity  of  expression  that  the  thought 
is  clearly  perceived,  while  the  style  itself  is  least  seen. 

Quintilian  says  that  the  discourse  should  enter  the  mind,, 
is  the  light  enters  the  ej'e,  even  although  not  intently 
fixed  upon  it;  so  that  pains  are  necessary  not  merely  that 

1  "  If  men  were  to  converse  as  they  sometimes  preach,  it  would  be  bombastic  absurd- 
ity; if  they  were  to  preach  as  they  usually  speak,  it  would  be  bare,  passionless,  and  tame 
in  the  extreme.  But  this  may  be  because  their  actual  pronching  is  bombastic,  and  theip 
actual  conversation  poor  and  tame." — Ulaikie,  For  the  Work  of  the  MinUtry,  p.  135. 

2  Broad  us. 

3  Let  us  regard  perspicuity  as  the  first  excellence. — Quintilian,  Lib.  VIIL,  Cap.  II. 


Pidmary  Qualities  of  Style.  411 

the  hearer  may  be  able  to  understand  it,  but  that  he  can 
in  no  way  fail  to  understand  it.  ^  He  who  strives  to  be 
intelligible  should  imitate  the  example  of  a  German  phi- 
losopher, the  clearest  thinker  and  writer  of  his  time,  who 
entitled  a  treatise,  "  An  account,  clear  as  the  sun,  of  the 
real  nature  of  my  philosophy;  or,  an  attempt  to  compel 
the  reader  to  understand."  - 

The  preacher  may  often  be  tempted  to  yield  to  a  false 
idea  of  style  which  delights  in  a  labored  and  learned  kind 
of  rhetoric,  or  in  a  brilliant  "  blaze  of  oratorical  fire- 
works," than  which  there  is  no  manner  more  offensive  tO' 
good  sense.  In  our  time,  there  is  a  class  who  would  rather 
have  their  ears  tickled  than  their  hearts  and  minds  enlight- 
ened; and  they  demand  a  florid  kind  of  obscurity;  but  he 
should  dare  to  be  plain,  and  thus  correct  this  evil  tendency 
of  our  day.  If  he  endeavor  to  please  this  class  of  hearers,. 
he  will  displease  many  others,  "  without  in  hict  succeeding 
better  with  the  class  whose  applause  was  desired."  In 
secular  oratory,  where  the  highest  object,  often,  is  simply 
to  entertain  and  to  please,  an  artificial  style  may  be  ex- 
cnsable;  but  the  preacher  has  a  higher  mission  than  to^ 
delight  the  people  with  his  rhetorical  enchantment.  iToth- 
ing  is  more  unbecoming  than  grandiloquence  in  the  pulpit, 
—  words,  words,  without  a  meaning.  The  message  of  sal- 
vation to  perishing  men  must  be  plainly  and  clearly  ren- 
dered. Says  J.  Angell  James,  "  I  could  as  soon  believe  a 
physician  were  intent  on  saving  his  fellow-creatures  from 
death,  who,  when  the  plague  was  sweeping  them  into  the 
grave,  spent  his  time  in  studying  to  write  his  pr^cription 
in  beautiful  characters  and  classic  Latiiiity."^  "Would  a 
man  of  any  bowels  of  compassion  go  from  a  prince  to  a 

1  "  J/f  in  animtim  ejus  oratio,  ut  sol  in  omios,  etia7mi  in  earn  non  intendatur,  incurrat.  Quare- 
non,  ut  inteUigere possit,  sed  ne  omnino  possit  non  intelligere,  curandum." — Orai.  Inst.,  III.,  2^ 
23,  24. 

2  Fichto.    Quoted  by  Shedd  and  Broadus. 

3  Earnest  JMinistry,  p.  92. 


412  TJie  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

■condemned  man  and  tell  him,  in  snch  a  language  that  he 
should  not  understand,  the  condition  upon  which  the 
prince  would  pardon  him,  and  then  the  poor  man  lose  his 
life  because  the  proud  and  haughty  messenger  must  show 
his  knack  in  delivering  his  message  in  fine  English,  which 
the  condemned  man  could  not  understand?"' 
The  chief  requisite  in  perspicuity  of  style  is  — 
1,  A  distinct  and  dear  conception  of  the  subject.  Language 
is  the  photograph  of  thought.  It  is  a  copy  of  the  mind's 
idea,  presented  to  others  in  characters  or  sounds,  so  that 
when  we  write  we  think  visibly,  when  we  speak  we  think 
audibly.  How,  then,  can  the  expression  of  one's  thoughts 
be  perspicuous  when  the  thoughts  themselves  are  con- 
fused? "A  writer  can  never  make  that  clear  to  his  readers 
which  is  not  clear  to  liimself."  ^  Obscurity  in  language 
is  usually  the  result  of  obscurity  in  thought;  while  clear, 
lucid  ideas  naturally  clothe  themselves  in  plain  and  intel- 
ligible words.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  common 
people  can  not  understand  a  profoundly  deep  preacher, 
provided  he  has  a  clear  style;  but  on  the  other  hand,  the 
most  intelligent  (as  well  as  the  most  illiterate)  are  often 
perplexed  at  the  ambiguous  diction  of  a  superficial  dis- 
course that  lacks  thoroughness  of  conception  in  the  speak- 
er's own  mind.  "Don't  be  afraid  to  say  simple  things. 
The  greatest  sayings  are  simple."  Albert  Barnes  truly 
says,  "  A  river  may  be  deep,  and  yet  its  waters  so  pure  that 
the  bottom  may  be  seen  at  a  great  depth;  and  glass  in  the 
window  is  most  valuable  the  clearer  and  purer  it  is,  when 
it  is  itself  least  seen,  and  when  it  gives  no  obstruction  to 
the  light.  If  the  purpose  be  that  the  glass  may  be  in  itself 
ornamental,  it  may  be  well  to  stain  it;  if  to  give  light,  it 
should   be   pure.     A   very  shallow   stream   may  be    very 

I  Doolittl(<. 

a  Porter's  Lectures  on  Eloquence  and  Style. 


Primary   Qtialities  of  Style.  4 1 3 

muddy,  and  because  the  bottom  can  not  be  seen  it  is  no 
evidence  that  it  is  deep.  So  it  is  with  style."  ^  We  then 
announce  this  law  of  perspicuity;  namely,  intelligible  thought 
begets  intelligible  language. 

2.  The  language,  then,  will  be  •precise.  Distinctness  of 
conception,  producing  well-defined,  clear-cut  ideas,  tends 
to  language  that  expresses  neither  more  nor  less  than  one- 
means  to  say. 

Precision  of  language  requires  a  knowledge  of  the  real 
meaning  of  words.  "  Accustom  yourself  to  reflect  on  the 
words  you  use,  hear,  or  read, —  their  birth,  derivation,  and 
history."  2  Superfluous  expressions,  though  generally  to 
be  avoided  as  opposed  to  precision,  are  not  universally  tO' 
be  rejected,  as  in  some  cases  they  have  a  fine  efi'ect,  espe- 
cially in  aiding  emphasis.^ 

3.  The  language,  again,  will  consist  of  words  that  are 
mostly  in  common  circulation.  Clearness  of  conception  must 
also  express  itself  in  words  that  are  clear  to  everybody.. 
"  Men  sometimes  speak  obscurely  on  a  subject  for  the 
simple  reason  that  they  are  familiar  with  it,  and  forget  that 
others  are  not  so."  ■*  We  must  put  ourselves  in  the  place 
of  the  common  people,  and  learn  what  style  of  language 
is  common  to  them.  "  Popular  language  is  that  which  all 
classes  of  society  alike  understand,  the  common  ground 
on  which  they  meet  and  communicate  with  each  other;  "^ 
and  this  style  of  language  we  recommend  as  the  readiest 
door  of  access  to  the  attention  and  hearts  of  the  masses. 

1  "A  discourse  can  no  more  be  eloquent  with  obscurity  than  a  figure  be  striking  in 
the  dark." — Vinet's  HomUetics,  p.  372. 

2  Coleridge,  in  his  Preface  to  Aids  to  Reflection. 

3  Cicero's  expression,  ''  Abiii,  excesnit,  evasit,  erupit,"  is  very  graphic.  Scripture  often 
uses  redundant  expressions  which  seem  to  spring  from  earnest  utterance  of  a  devout 
mind, — "poor  and  needy;"  "old  and  stricken  in  years;"  "length  of  days  and  Icng 
life;"  "  psrfeet  and  entire,  wanting  nothing;"  "  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with 
grief;"  "  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord  as  long  as  I  live:  I  will  sing  praise  to  my  God  whili  I 
have  my  being;"  "  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh:  the  Lord  shall  have  them 
in  derision,"  etc. 

4  Whately,  cited  by  Broadus. 

5  Vinet's  HomUetics,  p.  399. 


414  ^/^^  Preacher  and  His  Sej-mon. 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  a  word  is  a  really  plain 
word  because  it  happens  to  be  eommou,  or  Saxon.'  Mr. 
Burgon  sayf,  "We  have  heard  too  much  of  the  importance 
of  using  Anglo-Saxon  words  in  addressing  the  uneducated. 
^-  *  *  *  The  humblest  auditors  *  *  =5^  *  are  familiar  with 
Bible-English.  To  suppose  that  monosyllables  will  of 
necessity  conduce  to  plainness  is  a  kindred  mistake."^  Yet 
as  a  rule,  words  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin  are  best  adapted 
to  a  mixed  audience.  They  constitute  the  bulk  and  orig- 
inal stock  of  our  language,  its  true  vernacular.  It  has 
been  ascertained  that  the  English  language  now  consists 
of  about  thirty-eight  thousand  words,  of  which  twenty- 
three  thousand,  or  nearly  live  eighths,  are  Anglo-Saxon 
in  their  origin;  in  our  most  idiomatic  writers  about  nine 
tenths  are  Anglo-Saxon,  and  in  our  least  idiomatic  writers 
about  two  thirds.  From  an  examination  of  passages  from 
the  Bible,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Cowley,  Thomson,  Addison, 
Spenser,  Locke,  Pope,  Young,  Gibbon,  and  Johnson,  it 
appears  that  of  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety-two 
words  in  sentences  taken  from  these  authors  there  are  only 
two  hundred  not  Saxon.  Upon  this  basis  of  calculation 
about  four  fifths  of  the  words  in  actual  use  are  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  origin.  Many  words  of  foreign  composition  are 
equally  plain;  but  what  is  insisted  upon  is  that  the  words 
of  every-day  usage,  such  as  have  settled  and  well-under- 
stood meanings,  are  best  for  the  pulpit. 

Hence,  avoid  technicalities.^     When  used  they  should  be 

1  "For  exami)le,  most  ehurch-r;oing  people  would  understand  what  we  mean  by  an 
edifying  sermon,  and  many  of  them  would  bo  a  little  surprised  by  hearing  the  phrase,  a 
building-up  sermon;  and  yet  edify  is  Latin  and  build  up  is  Saxon." — llonnldical  and  Pas- 
toral Lectures,  delivered  at  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  before  the  Church  Homiletical  Society, 
p.  100. 

2  Treatise  on  the  Pastoral  Office,  p.  176. 

3  The  language  of  science  and  professionals  is  not  intelligible  to  the  majority  of  peo- 
ple. "  Even  tlioae  technical  terms  in  theology  with  which  the  people  are  very  familiar 
do  not  always  represent  to  them  any  distinct  conception."— Broadus'  Preparation  and  De- 
livery oj  Strmons,  p.  344. 


Primary  Qualities  of  Style,  415 

■Bufficiently  explained.^  How  different  a  hearer's  criticism 
^fter  listening  to  the  scholarly  sermon  of  a  certain  preacher, 
■"  I  ought  to  have  taken  my  dictionary  instead  of  my  Bible 
to  church  to-day,"  from  the  fine  compliment  on  Webster's 
speech:  "I  read  your  speech  through  without  the  aid  of  a 
■dictionary."  Webster  used  to  refer  to  this  as  the  best 
compliment  of  his  life. 

Archaism,  provincialism,  barbarism,  solecism,  alienism, 
■cant  words,  and  all  scientific  and  foreign  phrases,  though 
useful  in  literary  composition  and  in  treatises  on  scientific 
subjects,  are  utterly  out  of  place  in  the  pulpit.  In  shunning 
an  inflated  style  of  phraseology  the  preacher  must  equally 
ishun  everything  that  is  trivial  or  vulgar  in  expression. 

4.  The  language  ivill  give  amplitude  to  the  conception.  By 
this  is  meant  the  dwelling  upon  an  important  point  or 
principle,  until  the  hearer  shall  feel  the  whole  force  of  it. 
It  is  not  enough  that  the  words  and  sentences  be  clear;  the 
leading  ideas  (as  well  as  the  sub-ideas)  of  the  sermon, 
which  we  wish  to  impress,  must  possess  fullness  and  com- 
pleteness. "  Style  is  not  only  a  medium;  it  is  also  a  form. 
It  is  not  only  translucent  and  transparent,  like  the  unde- 
fined and  all-pervading  atmosphere;  it  also  has  definite 
•outlines,  like  a  single  object.  Style  is  not  only  clear  like 
the  light;  it  is  rotund  like  the  sun.  While,  therefore,  the 
conception  of  perspicuity  of  medium  is  retained,  there 
should  also  be  combined  with  it  the  conception  of  fullness 
of  outline,  and  vividness  of  impression,  so  as  to  secure  a 
comprehensive,  and  all-including  idea  of  that  first  funda- 
mental property  of  style   which  renders   it   intelligible."  ^ 

1  "If  there  be  a  common  and  a  scientific  name  for  the  same  object,  ten  to  one  that  the 
Matter  is  adopted.  Heat  straiglitway  be<',omes  'calorie;'  lightning,  the  'electric  fluid;' 
instead  of  plants  and  animals,  we  are  surrounded  by  '  organized  substances ; '  life  is 
nothing  half  so  good  as  the  •  vital  principle;  '  phenomena  of  all  kinds  are  very  plentiful; 
these  phenomena  are  'developed,'  and  'oombiued,'  and  'analyzed,'  and,  in  short,  done 
■everything  with  except  being  made  intelligible." — Edinburgh  Review,  quot«d  by  Ripley,  in 
£acred  Rhetoric,  p.  139. 

2  Shedd's  Homilelici  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  61. 


41 6  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Whately  says  that  the  relation  of  the  generaUty  ot 
minds  to  thought  is  analogous  to  that  of  the  horse  to  its 
food.  The  horse  can  not  be  fed  on  corn  alone,  but  straw 
or  hay  must  be  added,  to  supply  the  necessary  bulk  to  dis- 
tend the  stomach,  in  order  that  it  may  act  with  its  full 
powers.  Something  like  hay  and  straw  in  the  form  of 
illustration,  repetition,  variation,  etc.,  must  be  added  to  the 
more  solid  arguments,  for  the  twofold  purpose  of  giving 
fullness,  and  of  aiding  the  hearer  in  clearly  grasping  the 
thoughts  and  digesting  their  contents.  In  this  respect 
Chalmers  is  a  model,  whose  discourses  are  so  full  and  com- 
plete that  one  can  not  fail  to  understand  his  ideas,  or 
ever  cease  to  remember  tliem. 

In  the  matter  of  fullness  of  treatment,  two  extremes 
should  be  guarded  against.  The  first  is  'prolixity.  Too 
much  amplifying  of  the  subject  becomes  wearisome  to  the 
audience,  and  verbal  circumlocution  is  disgusting.  Avoid 
flumen  dicendi}^  ^  "Poverty  of  thought  seeks  to  conceal  itself 
under  a  profusion  of  words.  With  such  a  mind  thoughts 
are  too  precious  a  commodity  to  be  dealt  out  freely,  but 
words,  which  cost  nothing,  and  which  are  common  prop- 
erty to  the  wise  and  foolish,  may  be  lavished  with  unspar- 
ing liberality.  *  *  *  ''^  Let  a  weak  writer  attempt  to 
describe  a  good  character,  and  he  overwhelms  you  with 
epithets.  All  is  lofty  and  magnificent.  Because  common 
w^ords^are  too  tame  to  suit  his  style  of  elevated  encomium, 
he  resorts  to  superlatives  and  intensives.     Pope  says, — 

'  Words  are  like  leaves;  and  wbeu  they  most  abound, 
Much  fruit  of  sense  beneath  is  rarely  found.'  "  3 


1  A  flood  of  speech. 

2  "  It  ia  not  uncommon  to  hear  a  writer  or  speaker  of  this  class  mentioned  aa  having, 
•a  very  fine  command  of  lan?,'ua','e,'  vvlipn  perliiips  it  might  be  .said  with  more  correct- 
ness tliat  '  his  hmguage  has  a  command  of  liim.'  *  =:'  <•  *  He  lia.s  but  llio  .-same  •  com- 
mand of  language'  tliat  tlie  riilcr  has  of  a  liorse  which  runs  away  with  him."— Wlitttely» 
quoted  by  Broadus,  Prcpnmlion  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  pp.  370,  371. 

3  Porter's  Lectures  on  Eloquence  and  Style. 


Primary  Qualities  of  Style.  417 

However,  no  strict  rule  can  be  laid  down  that  will  deter- 
mine the  dividing-line  between  fullness  and  overfullness,  or 
pleonasm;  for  what  might  be  considered  diffuse  by  one 
class  of  hearers,  would  be  too  compact  tor  another.  The 
intelligence  of  the  hearers  and  their  familiarity  with  the 
subject  treated  must  be  taken  into  account.  The  preacher 
is  bound  to  adapt  himself  to  his  hearers,  and  amplify  suf- 
ficiently to  make  himself  clear,  but  nothing  beyond  it. 

The  other  extreme  to  be  avoided  is  undue  brevity,  or  terse- 
ness. Some  preachers  neglect  fullness,  from  fear  of  being 
considered  ordinary,  and  therefore  crowd  as  many  ideas  as 
possible  into  one  sermon,  without  developing  any  to  the 
extent  required  by  the  law  of  perspicuity.  What  to  them 
seems  multum  in  i^arvo,  to  the  people  is  nihil  ad  rem.  Their 
motto  rather  should  be  non  multa,  sed  multum.^  Lord 
Brougham  says,  "  The  orator  often  feels  that  he  could  add 
strength  to  his  composition  by  compression;  but  his  hear- 
ers would  then  be  unable  to  keep  pace  with  him,  and  he 
is  compelled  to  sacrifice  conciseness  to  clearness."  Cicero 
objected  to  the  Greeks,  that  they  sometimes  carried  brevity 
to  the  point  of  obscurity.  In  order  that  a  sermon  may 
deepen  rather  than  scatter,  be  decisive  and  incisive  rather 
than  superficial  and  transient,  be  perspicuous  rather  than 
obscure,  it  is  always  better  to  amplify  than  to  multiply 
points,   without  running   into    the    extreme   of  prolixity. 

The  following  apt  quotations  in  reference  to  perspicuity 
are  valuable : 

"Words  that  convey  no  definite  meaning;  expletives  introduced 
merely  to  round  a  sentence,  but  not  to  express  a  thought;  tawdry  met- 
aphors heaped  on  each  other  with  barbaric  profusion ;  ornamental 
expressions  that  draw  attention  to  themselves  but  give  no  increase  of 
vividness  to  the  meaning,  are  all  to  be  given  to  the  pruning-hook,  and 
remorselessly  cast  into  the  fire."  ^ 

1  Not  many  things,  but  much;  depth  of  knowledge  rather  than  extent, 

2  Blaikie,  For  the  Work  of  the  Ministry,  p.  143. 

27 


41 8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

Rogers  says,  in  speaking  of  tlie  seventeenth,  century, — 

"Most  of  the  sermons  of  that  age  are  full  of  quotations  absolutely 
unintelligible  to  the  common  people.  Numberless  passages  of  Jeremy 
Taylor,  in  particular,  are  little  better  than  a  curious  tessellation  of  En- 
glish, Greek,  and  Latin."  i 

"Even  Wesley's  sermons  abound  in  such  quotations,  though  he 
preached  mainly  to  the  common  people.  It  is  a  sign  of  improved  taste 
that  this  is  no  longer  the  practice.  *  *  *  *  Even  where  one  refers 
to  the  original  Scriptures,  it  is  very  rarely  proper  to  mention  the  Greek 
or  Hebrew  word.  *  *  *  *  The  preacher  must  never  invent  words. 
Madame  de  Stael  says,  'There  is  in  general  no  surer  symptom  of  barren- 
ness of  ideas,  than  the  invention  of  words,' — a  remark  which  may  at 
least  be  set  over  against  the  notion  that  such  invention  is  a  symptom  of 
originality."  2 

"It  is  said  that  Archbishop  Tillotson  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  his 
sermons  to  an  illiterate  old  woman  that  lived  with  him,  and  altering  all 
the  phrases  till  he  had  brought  them  down  to  the  level  of  her  capacity. 
Some  author*  will  go  over  a  paper  again  and  again  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  find  out  whether  more  common  and  intelligible  words  or  phrases 
could  be  substituted  for  any  that  they  have  used.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  a  style  on  which  no  pains  have  been  bestowed  is  necessa- 
rily a  clear  one."  ^ 

"  He  [the  preacher]  must  be  determined  to  be  so  intelligible,  that  the 
mind  of  the  hearer  can  not  fail  to  understand  him.  He  must  compel 
the  hearer  to  understand.  He  must  force  his  way  into  consciousness,  by 
the  most  significant,  tlie  most  direct,  the  very  plainest  address  to  his 
cognitive  powers.  *  *  *  *  Let  the  preacher,  whether  he  is  master  of 
any  other  properties  of  style,  and  before  troubling  himself  about  them, 
be  clear  as  the  sun  in  his  presentation  of  truth,  and  then  he  will  compel 
men  to  understand."  ^ 

"So  anxious  ought  the  Christian  teacher  to  be  for  clearness  in  his 
instructions,  as  even  to  forego  some  of  the  most  cultivated  forms  of 
speech;  nor  will  he  be  so  solicitous  whether  his  words  will  sound  well, 
as  whether  they  will  directly  convey  what  he  wishes  to  present.  *  *  *  * 
He  vvill  even  descend  from  his  own  level,  if  occasion  requires,  and  adopt 
expressions  which  are  common  to  the  class  of  people  he  is  addressing. 

1  JSssay  on  Sacred  Eloquence. 

2  Bro.adtis'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  329. 

3  Bl.aikie,  p.  142. 

4  Shcdd's  lluiniletics  and  Paslor-al  Thcolnijy,  p.  72. 


Primary  Qualities  of  Style.  419 

*  *  *  *  Why  should  we  speak  at  all,  if  those  for  whose  benefit  we  ought 
to  speak  can  not  understand  us?  A  preacher  ought,  then,  to  avoid  all 
fluch  forms  of  speech  as  are  not  suited  to  convey  his  meaning  to  the  par- 
ticular assembly  he  is  addressing,  however  well  adapted  they  may  be  to 
another  assembly;  and  in  their  stead,  he  should  endeavor  to  select  other 
pure  words  and  phrases."  ^ 

"  'Fire  low,'  the  order  which  generals  have  often  given  to  their  men 
feefore  fighting  began,  suits  the  pulpit  not  less  than  the  battle-field. 
The  mistake,  common  to  both  soldiers  and  speakers,  is  to  shoot  too  high, 
over  people's  heads;  missing  by  a  want  of  directness  and  plainness  both 
the  persons  they  preach  to  and  the  purpose  they  preach  for." 

II.     Energy. 

Energy,  strength,  force,  or  vivacity,  as  it  is  variously  called, 
is  the  forcible  expression  of  a  soul  in  earnest.  It  "  is  power 
manifested;  power  streaming  out  in  all  directions,  and  from 
every  pore  of  the  mind."^  It  is  not  merely  vehemence;  for 
a  man  may  be  boisterous  without  being  impressive.  One 
of  the  leading  characteristics  of  energy  is  pungency, — that 
quality  which  renders  thought  penetrative,  and  drives  truth 
liome  to  the  quick.  Sheer  physical  force  may  stun  with 
its  bluntness;  but  soul-earnestness  pierces  the  heart  with 
poignancy.  It  is  not  exaggeration.  Men  of  wild  imagina- 
tion or  strong  impulsiveness,  or,  perhaps,  of  a  phlegmatic 
disposition  or  dall  apprehension,  may  feign  enthusiasm  by 
the  use  of  extravagant  expressions  and  hyperbolic  phrases. 
8uch  a  superficial  kind  of  earnestness  is  not  energy,  in  sano 
sensu  (in  a  proper  sense).  It  is  a  fiction,  and  really  changes 
a  truth  into  a  falsehood  through  the  means  of  an  over- 
wrought rhetoric* 

1  Augustine,  De  Doctrina  Christiana,  Lib.  IV.,  Cap.  X. 

2  Dr.  Guthrie,  in  Introduction  to  his  sermon  on  "  Neglected  Warnings." 

3  Shedd's  Homileties  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  73. 

4  "  A  story  is  told  of  a  minister  so  prone  to  exaggeration,  that  after  his  brethren  had 
admonished  him  in  vain  they  voted  that  he  should  be  called  before  the  bar  of  the  con- 
ference, and  should  be  reproved  by  the  presiding  bishop.  The  reproof  was  kindly  and 
affectionately  given,  and  was  received  by  the  erring  brother  with  perfect  submiiJ.sion  and 
with  tears.  At  the  close  he  promised  to  reform,  expressed  deep  sorrow  for  his  error, 
said  it  had  cost  him  many  a  pang,  and  that  over  it  he  had  shed  barrels  of  tears."— Bishop 
fiimpson,  in  Yale  Lectures. 


420  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermoii, 

True  energy,  says  Shedd,  "  originates  in  truth  itself,  and 
partakes  of  its  nature.  *  =i=  *  *  Man's  strength  is  in  God, 
and  the  mind's  strength  is  in  truth."  True  energy,  then, 
consists  in  making  the  truth  appear  natural,  and  thereby 
giving  to  every  grade  thereof  that  proportion  of  energy 
which  is  natural  to  it,  or  which  its  importance  demands. 
All  truth  is  not  the  same  in  its  relations  to  man;  and  there- 
fore energy  in  expression  is  not  the  same,  but  varies  in  de- 
gree of  vigor,  according  as  the  truth  is  weighty  or  other- 
wise.^ 

But  all  religious  truth  is  essentially  weighty;  and  there- 
fore preaching  —  the  expressing  and  imparting  of  these 
momentous  doctrines  of  our  faith  which  are  calculated  to 
shape  and  fix  eternal  destinies  —  demands  more  force  in 
style  than  any  other  species  of  oratory  that  can  engage 
the  human  mind.  We  will  now  present  the  requisites  of 
energetic  style. 

1.  An  energetic  nature.  This  makes  the  mind  responsive, 
in  the  sense  that  it  not  only  feels  the  full  weight  of  the 
truth  that  strikes  upon  it,  but  echoes  it  back  to  men  in  its 
original,  true  force.  A  sluggish  disposition,  instead  of 
making  a  truth  to  rebound,  will  cause  it  to  be  dormant  in 
the  mind,  without  any  sign  of  vitality.  But  let  that  frigid 
nature  become  animated  by  a  vigorous  emotion,  and  every 
thought  receives  elasticity,  momentum,  power. 

Dr.  Cuyler  says,  "  Feel  everything.  The  common  lack 
of  the  pulpit  is  a  lack  of  feeling.  We  do  not  want  less 
logic,  nor  less  Bible  knowledge;  but  we  do  want  more 
holy  ardor  and  love  of  souls.  We  want  the  argument  red- 
hot  with  emotion,  the  inner  tire  piercing  through  the  logic, 

I  "  An  author  sliould  f^uanl  against  the  vain  ambition  of  expressing  even/thing  in  aa 
equally  hig\\-\\T0U'4ht,  hrilli^mt,  and  fon;il)le  stylo.  «  *  *  ■:•  To  brigliten  the  dark  parts 
of  a  picture,  produces  niucli  the  same  result  as  if  one  had  darlcenod  the  bright  parts;  in 
either  cane  there  is  a  want  of  relifj' >md  cunlraul ;  and  composition,  as  well  as  painting, 
has  its  lights  and  shades,  which  must  1)6  distributed  with  no  less  skill,  if  we  would  pro- 
duce the  desired  etl'ect."— VVhatcly,  p.  'JM,  quoted  by  lln-adus. 


Primary  Qualities  of  Style.  421 

like  the  red  glow  of  the  furnace  showing  itself  through 
every  chink.  Whatever  else  you  do  tamely,  never  preach 
tamely.  *  *  *  *  Remember  you  are  preaching  to  people 
who  have  come  from  homes,  from  nurseries,  from  beside 
sick-beds,  and  are  going  soon  to  one  of  their  own.  If  you 
can  not  help  weeping  sometimes,  then  weep;  break  down, 
if  you  must.  *  *  *  *  When,  in  the  first  five  minutes,  a 
man  can  convince  his  audience  that  he  is  trying  to  save 
their  souls,  he  kills  all  the  critics  in  the  house." 

True,  strong  sensibility  is  usually  a  gift;  but  it  can,  in  a 
degree,  be  acquired,  by  observing  how  men  of  great  feel- 
ing express  themselves  when  moved  by  passion;  and  espe- 
cially may  emotion  be  kindled  through  the  influence  of 
piety.  J.  W.  Alexander  says,  "  The  reason  why  we  have 
so  little  good  preaching  is  because  we  have  so  little  piety. 
To  be  eloquent  one  must  be  in  earnest;  he  must  not  only 
act  as  if  he  were  in  earnest,  or  try  to  be  in  earnest,  but  be 
in  earnest,  or  he  can  not  be  eflective.  *  *  *  *  One  man 
who  so  feels  for  the  souls  of  his  hearers  as  to  be  ready  to 
weep  over  them  will  assuredly  make  himself  felt.  *  *  *  * 
He  really  feels  what  he  says.  This  made  Cookman  elo- 
quent. This  especially  was  the  charm  of  Summerfield, 
above  all  men  I  ever  heard." ^  "Out  of  the  abundance 
of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh." 

2.  Penetrative  thought.  An  energetic  nature  is  dynamic; 
but  this  is  incisive.  It  adds  pungency  to  power,  acuteness 
to  momentum.  The  one  glows  with  intense  ardor,  and 
strikes  with  heavy  impact;  the  other  probes  the  inner 
nature,  and  pierces  the  very  penetralia  mentis  (inmost  re- 
cesses of  the  mind).  "  While  listening  to  a  speaker  of 
whom  this  property  is  a  characteristic,  our  minds  seem 
to  be  pricked  as  with  needles,  and  pierced  as  with  javelins. 

I  Thoughts  on  Preaching,  p.  17. 


422  The  Preache?"  and  His  Sermon. 

His  tliouglits  cut  through  the  more  dull  aud  apathetic  parts, 
into  the  quick,  and  produce  a  keen  sensation."  ^ 

Energy  of  style,  then,  is  a  suhjective  quality;  a  work 
which  has  its  origin  within,  and  proceeds  from  an  inward 
conception  and  feeling.  This  is  the  true  philosophy  of 
a  forcible  style.  Intensity  of  feeling  and  pungency  of 
thouHit  are  the  fountains  of  rhetorical  force.  The  man 
who  thinks  deeply  and  feels  strongly,  expresses  himself 
powerfully.  "The  state  of  the  mind  at  the  time  of  writ- 
ing is  an  important  consideration — the  interest  felt  in  the 
Buhject,  the  vivid  conception  of  the  theme,  and  the  strength 
of  purpose  and  of  aim.  **=;=*  There  must  be  the  energy 
of  soul  before  energy  of  expression."  ^ 

3.  Style  of  language.  What,  now,  should  be  the  kind  of 
language  to  correspond  with  this  kind  of  inner  soul-force?' 

(1.)  It  must  possess  energetic  hreoity.  Such  was  the  st^de 
of  Aristotle,  Tacitus,  Phocion,  and  Milton.  How  pointed 
the  words  of  Milton's  Satan,  spoken  to  the  fallen  angels: 
"  Princes,  potentates,  warriors,  ***-!=  awake,  arise,  or  be- 
forever  fallen!"^  The  American  Indian  orators  are  espe- 
cially noted  for  a  brevity  which  is  full  of  feeling.  Note 
the  language  of  Black  Hawk,  in  his  speech  at  Prairie  da 
Chien,  speaking  of  himself  in  the  third  person.  "  Black. 
Hawk  is  a  true  Indian,  and  disdains  to  cry  like  a  woman. 
He  feels  for  his  wife,  his  children,  and  bis  friends.  But  he 
does  not  care  for  himself.  He  cares  for  the  nation  and  the 
Indians.  They  will  suffer.  He  laments  their  fate.  He 
has  been  taken  prisoner,  and  his  plans  are  stopped.  He 
can  do  no  more.  He  is  near  his  end.  His  sun  is  settings 
and  he  will  rise  no  more."  These  sparks  of  laconic  brevity 
proceeded  from  a  feeling  heart,  and  impress  us  deeply.  "  It 
may  be  established  as  a  maxim  that  admits  no  exception, 

I  Slicdd's  Iloinilctici  and  Ptistoral  Theoloijy,  p.  8;i. 
a  Hoppin's  Honiiletics,  p.  773. 
3  IXiradise  Lout. 


Primary  Qualities  of  Style.  4.2^ 

that  the  fewer  the  words  are,  provided  neither  propriety 
nor  perspicuity  be  violated,  the  expression  is  always  the 
more  vivid."  ^'  ^  "  Oratory,  like  the  drama,  abhors  lengthi- 
ness.    ■* 

(2.)  It  must  possess  energetic  construction.  This  is  se- 
cured: 

(a.)  By  conserving  unity  in  the  sentences, —  presenting 
but  one  leading  idea,  and  preserving  the  same  order  and 
construction  throughout  the  entire  sentence.  Thus,  the 
sentence,  "  He  believed  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
also  in  the  absolute  perfection  of  God,  and  that  man  is  a 
ruined  sinner,"  is  defective  in  unity  of  grammatical  rela- 
tion. How  much  more  forcible  when  stated  thus:  "He 
believed  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures,  the  perfection  of  God, 
and  the  ruin  of  man;"  or,  "  He  believed  that  the  Scriptures 
are  true,  that  God  is  perfect,  and  that  man  is  a  ruined 
sinner."  * 

(b.)  By  using  specific  rather  than  general  or  abstract 
terms.  Dr.  Campbell  says  that  the  more  general  the  terms 
are,  the  fainter  is  the  picture;  the  more  special  they  are, 
the  brighter.  "  In  the  song  of  Moses,  occasioned  by  the 
miraculous  passage  of  the  Israelites  through  the  Red  Sea, 
the  inspired  poet,  speaking  of  the  Egyptians,  says,  '  They 
sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters.'  Make  but  a  small 
alteration  on  the  expression,  and  say, '  They  fell  as  metal  in 
the  mighty  waters,'  and  the  difi'erence  in  the  eflect  will  be 
quite  astonishing.  *  *  *  *  '  Consider  the  lilies  how  they 
grow;  they  toil  not,  they  spin  not;  and  yet  I  say  unto  you 
that  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of 
these.'     *  *  *  *     Let  us  here  adopt  a  little  of  the  tasteless 

1  Campbeirs  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  p.  353,  quoted  by  Broadus. 

3  The  Greek  and  Latin  languages  are  favorable  to  brevity  of  expression;  for  example, 
•'  Vincit,  Christo  cluce.'"    He  conquers,  Christ  being  his  leader. 

3  Lytton's  Caxianiana,  p.  94. 

4  See  Porter's  Lectures  on  Eloquence  and  Style. 


424  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermo7i. 

manner  of  modern  paraphrasts,  by  tlie  substitution  of 
more  general .  terms,  *  *  *  *  and  observe  the  efi'ect  pro- 
duced by  this  change.  '  Consider  the  flowers  how  they 
gradually  increase  in  their  size;  they  do  no  manner  of 
work,  and  yet  I  declare  to  you  that  no  king  whatever,  in 
his  most  splendid  habit,  is  dressed  up  like  them.'  *  *  *  * 
How  spiritless  is  the  same  sentiment  rendered  by  these 
small  variations."  ^ 

(c.)  By  arranging  words  in  an  order  that  is  most  adapted 
to  strongly  impress  the  hearer.  In  the  language  of  passion, 
whatever  is  most  felt  will  first  find  utterance.  Thus, 
Shakespeare  makes  the  murderer  of  Hamlet's  father  say 
in  horror  of  his  soul,  "Pray  —  I  can  not."  This  is  more 
expressive  than  the  grammatical  order,  "  I  can  not  pray." 
Broadus  speaks  of  "what  grammarians  call  ajposiopesiSy 
where  part  of  a  sentence  is  suppressed  through  emotion. 
E.  g.,  Luke  xix.  42,  '  If  even  thou  hadst  known  *  *  *  * 
the  things  that  belong  to  thy  peace!'  How  much  better 
would  have  been  her  destiny,  it  is  left  for  silence  to  sug- 
gest. Luke  xxii.  42,  *  Father,  if  thou  art  willing  to  remove 
this  cup  from  me!'  *  *  *  *  Acts  xxiii.  9,  'We  find  no  evil 
in  this  man;  but  if  a  spirit  spoke  to  him,  or  an  angel — ?' 
How  expressive  was  this  silence,  from  a  Pharisee  speaking 
in  the  Sanhedrim,  in  presence  of  the  Sadducees." 

The  climax,  or  that  structure  of  a  sentence  in  which  the 
difi^erent  members  succeed  each  other  in  order  of  strength 
or  importance,  the  most  impressive  being  placed  lastj^is  a 
species  of  energetic  arrangement. 

(3.)     It  must  possess  energetic  imagery.     Representative 

I  Campbell's  Pfiiloxopliy  of  IViituric,  pp.  307,  .'iOS.— Our  most  abstract  and  gonoric  term? 
are  from  the  Latiu,  while  the  spccitio  are  from  the  Anglo-Saxon.  Thus,  color  ia  Latin 
but  white,  black,  green,  are  Anglo-Sa.\on.  Crime  is  Latin,  but  murder,  thett,  robbery 
etc.,  are  Anglo-Saxon.  Hence  the  latter  are  more  expressive.  "  Well-being  arises  frorr 
well-doing,"  is  Saxon.  "Felivity  attends  virtue,"  is  Latin.  How  inferior  in  force  is  th( 
latterl  An  admirer  of  Howe's  sermon  on  "  The  Savior's  Tears  "  said,  "  I  could  think  ol 
the  word  tear  till  1  wept."  How  flat  it  would  sound  to  say,  "  The  lachrymal  distress  ol 
Jesus." 


Primary  Qualities  of  Style.  425 

imagery  consists  of  concrete  or  sensible  objects  used  to  rep- 
resent abstract  conceptions  or  truths.  The  most  efl'ective 
eloquence  often  uses  symbolic  figures  for  the  sake  of  setting 
forth  an  idea  in  its  most  vivid  colors.  The  oriental  imagery 
of  the  Hebrew  language  gives  its  ideas  a  peculiar  and 
striking  costume,  which  may  be  especially  observed  in  the 
books  of  Job,  Psalms,  and  Isaiah.  "When  Isaiah  in  his 
usual  vigor  of  style  would  set  forth  the  Messiah  as  a  com- 
fort in  trouble,  he  describes  him  as  "the  shadow  of  a  great 
rock  in  a  weary  land;"  "a  refuge  from  the  storm,  a  shadow 
from  the  heat,  when  the  blast  of  the  terrible  ones  is  as  a 
storm  against  the  wall." 

The  use  of  tropes  greatly  aids  in  energy  of  discourse, 
provided  they  are  congruous,  and  are  not  used  to  excess.' 

In  regard  to  this  whole  matter  of  energy  in  style,  it  is 
to  be  observed  that  there  are  some  ex<ieptionally  few 
preachers  Avho,  though  they  possess  penetrative  habits  of 
thought  and  an  emotional  nature,  are,  nevertheless,  un- 
happy in  their  delivery.  "If  your  tendency  should  be 
toward  scantiness  of  vocabulary,  broken  sentences,  or 
involuntary  gaps,  halts,  and  pauses,  by  all  means  encourage 
a  flow.  The  advice  which  might  be  fatal  to  a  voluble 
loquacity  is  all-important  for  you.  Keep  up  the  continuity. 
Let  trifles  go.  *  *  *  *  Dr.  Johnson  says,  '  Write  as  fast 
as  you  can' — speak  as  uninterruptedly  as  you  can.  Let 
little  things  go.  Return  for  no  correction.  The  wise  will 
understand  your  slips  and  forgive  them.  Whitefield's  rule 
was,  'Never  take  back  anything  unless  it  was  wicked.' 
This  is  very  ditfereut  from  rapid  utterances  or  precipi- 
tancy." - 

1  The  tropes  mostly  usfd  in  energetic  preaching  are  Metaphor,  Synecdoche,  Hyper- 
bole, Personification,  Interrogation,  and  sometimes  Apostrophe,  Exclamation,  and 
Dramalism.  All  figures  of  speech  used  should  be  common, — not  trite  or  vulgar;  not  far- 
ietched,  fine,  or  elaborate, — strong,  natural,  always  suited  to  the  nature  of  the  subject. 
Do  not  mix  two  or  liiore  figures  in  the  same  sentence. 

2  J.  W.  Alexander's  Thoughts  on  Preaching,  p.  167. 


426  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

III.     Beauty. 

Beauty  is  the  last  and  least  in  the  triplet  of  primary 
qualities  of  style.  Some  regard  this  property  as  altogether 
unnecessary  in  a  sermon,  and  studiously  avoid  all  elegant 
phraseology,  as  though  it  were  a  defect.  Others  give  it 
supreme  importance,  and  their  chief  concern  is  to  clothe 
their  thoughts  in  the  most  ornamental  o-arb.  Both  views 
are  inconsistent  with  good  style  and  a  cultivated  taste. 
That  which  is  really  desirable  in  style  is  neither  artificial 
beauty  nor  uncouth  homeliness,  but  that  artless  charm 
and  symmetry  which  inheres  in  something  really  and 
intrinsically  beautiful,  —  natural  elegance  as  opposed  to 
outward  decoration.  "  A  painted  cheek  is  an  abomina- 
tion; but  let  there  be  high  health,  and  animated  feelings 
and  without  an  etfort  or  a  thought  the  cheek  takes  to 
itself  a  color  most  bright  and  fair.  The  Creator  meant 
that  it  should  be  so."  ^ 

Hence,  such  an  idea  of  beauty  as  above  described,  though, 
inferior  and  subservient  to  perspicuity  and  energj',  is  not 
to  be  ostracized  as  unworthy  a  place  in  religious  eloquence. 
Beauty  evidently  is  a  divine  creation,  and  is  everywhere 
displayed, — in  Revelation  as  well  as  in  nature,  and  from  the 
smallest  dew-drop  that  sparkles  in  the  morning  light,  up  to 
the  heavens  that  "  declare  the  glory  of  God."  Everything 
touched  by  the  lingers  of  Divinity  shows  something  of  the 
"  beauty  of  the  Lord"  (Psalms  xxvii.  4);  "and  it  is  on  the 
basis  of  this  style  touched  with  corresponding  beauty  that 
devout  souls  love  most  to  hear  the  lessons  of  divine  truth 
from  human  lips."  ^  If  human  hearts  can  be  impressed  by 
truth  presented  with  clearness  and  force,  they  can  also  be 
impressed  with  its  beauty  and  its  loveliness.  The  mistake 
is  in  regarding  beauty  as  nothing  more  than  ornament  — 

I  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  38(5. 
a  Blaikie,  For  the  Work  of  the  JUinuitry,  p.  119. 


Primary  Qualities  of  Style.  427 

an  external  embellishment  added  to  truth  in  order  to  make- 
it  entertaining  or  pleasing  to  an  aesthetic  mind.  There  is,, 
indeed,  an  outward  beauty,  but  there  is  also  a  living 
beauty.  There  is  a  difference  between  a  real  flower  and  a 
bouquet  of  wax-work. 

Beauty,  like  the  properties  of  persjDicuity  and  energy,  is 
an  efflux  from  within,  and  is  manifested  through  the  verbal 
expression.  But  it  does  not  spring  from  one  internal  attri- 
bute, but  from  many.  It  is  rather  the  symmetrical  union 
of  the  most  perfect  qualities  which  blend  in  beautiful  utter- 
ances; as,  in  the  various  natural  features  of  a  landscape,  or 
the  many  compouent  parts  of  a  painting,  the  pleasing, 
grace  called  the  beautiful  is  the  result  of  their  variety  har- 
monized into  unity.  Imagination,  passion,  order,  sim- 
plicity, perspicuity,  force, —  all  are  the  constituents  of  a 
beautiful  style;  the  more  perfect  these  are,  the  more 
elegant  will  be  the  style.  The  eftbrt  to  be  plain,  forcible^ 
clear,  interesting,  systematic,  results  in  beauty.  "Without 
this  harmony  of  the  best  internal  faculties,  every  endeavor 
to  delight  the  hearer,  by  the  use  of  gaudy  metaphors  or 
brilliant  language,  will  be  aifectation,  and  not  real  beauty.. 

As  a  complement  to  this  beauty  of  qualities,  there  is 
a  beauty  of  language  which  characterizes  an  admirable 
speaker. 

1.  The  language  will  be  jpoetical;  not  poetry  in  the 
proper  sense,  but  a  kind  of  poetical  prose,  that  flows  with 
ease  and  smoothness.^  This  is  the  natural  movement  of 
deep  feeling  and  earnest  thinking.  As  deep  rivers  flow 
in  majestic  smoothness,  so  a  full  heart  and  a  full  mind 
will  move  with  lubricity  and  melody.  The  words  ''^fitly 
spoken"  which  Solomon  portrays  as  "  apples  of  gold  in 
pictures  of  silver,"  literally,  are    words   on   ivheels,  which,, 

I  "  Prose  is  words  in  the  riglat  places;  and  poetry,  the  best  words  in  the  best  places,"" 
--Coleridge. 


428  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

instead  of  rasping  and  grating  on  the  ear,  roll  along  with 
■ease  and  evenness. 

Eii-phony^  according  to  Vinet,  is  "the  combination  of 
.agreeable,  and  the  exclusion  of  discordant  sounds."  A 
pleasing  combination  must  be  promoted  by  avoiding  harsh 
sounds,  arising  from  difficult  combinations  of  Greek  and 
Latin  terms,  as  well  as  words  and  sentences  containing  a 
succession  of  unaccented  syllables;  such  as,  meteorological, 
■desultoriness,  etc. 

Harmony  has  reference  to  rhythmical  flow  of  thought, 
.and  adds  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  expression.  Examples 
■of  it  abound  in  the  Scriptures;  such  as  the  words  of  Ruth 
to  Naomi,  the  one  hundred  and  third  and  one  hundred  and 
seventh  psalms,  our  Lord's  invitation  to  the  weary  and 
heavy  laden,  and  the  last  chapter  of  Revelation. 

In  trying  to  secure  euphony  and  harmony  of  language 
we  must  not  aim  at  making  musical  sentences,  but  remem- 
ber that  beauty  of  style  flows  naturally  from  a  deeply 
emotional  and  mental  state  of  the  speaker.  Alliteration 
.sometimes  increases  euphony;  as,  "above  |  all  pain,  |  all 
passion,  |  and  all  pride."  A  resemblance  between  the 
sounds  of  certain  words  and  their  signiflcance,  as  in 
■"  splash,"  "  whiz,"  "  rough,"  "  smooth,"  "  blunt,"  "  hard," 
■etc.,  is  as  expressive  as  it  is  beautiful. 

An  important  rule  is,  "  That  the  language  ought  to  cor- 
respond to  the  subject:  heroic  actions  or  sentiments  require 
elevated  language;  tender  sentiments  ought  to  be  expressed 
in  words  solt  and  flowing,  and  plain  language  void  of  orna- 
ment is  adapted  to  subjects  grave  and  didactic.  Language 
may  be  considered  as  the  dress  of  thought;  and  where  the 
one  is  not  suited  to  the  other,  we  are  sensible  of  incongru- 
ity, in  the  same  manner  as  where  a  judge  is  dressed  like  a 
fop,  or  a  peasant  like  a  man  of  quality.  Where  the  im- 
pression made  by  the  words  resembles  the  impression  made 


Primary   Qiialiiies  of  Style.  429 

by  tlie  thought,  the  simiLar  emotions  mix  sweetly  in  the 
mind,  and  double  the  pleasure;  but  where  the  impressions^ 
made  by  the  thought  and  the  words  are  dissimilar,  the  un- 
natural union  they  are  forced  into  is  disagreeable."  ^ 

The  influence  of  accent  aids  harmony.  The  following 
sentence  from  Pope  has  an  accent  on  every  second  syllable: 
"  Some  place  the  bliss  in  action,  some  in  ease." 

2.  It  will  be  simple.  Simple  words  which  belong  to 
beauty  as  well  as  to  perspicuity  are  preferable;  such  as 
liierce  for  penetrate,  knowledge  for  cognition,  flood  for  cata- 
clysm, very  small  for  infinitesimal,  etc.  Saxon  words  recall 
early  associations,  since  they  w^ere  the  vocabulary  of  our 
childhood,  and  therefore  possess  a  beauty  of  simplicity 
that  is  really  charming.  "  We  hear  one  man  say  to  an- 
other, 'Oh,  where  is  your  residence?'  Why  don't  he  say 
home'?  There  is  more  in  that  word  which  carries  us  back 
to  the  days  when  we  were  young  than  in  all  others.  That 
word  is  pure  English;  and  there  is  thunder  in  a  Saxon. 
word  where  there  is  only  heat-lightning  in  the  Latin."  ^ 

3.  It  will  also  be  figurative.  Most  of  the  figures  that 
contribute  to  energy  also  contribute  to  beauty.  They 
should  not  be  employed  in  profusion,  lest  the  style  become 
wearisome,  but  must  be  used  with  moderation  and  variety. 

As  to  the  relative  importa.nce  of  the  ■primary  qualities  of 
style,  perspicuity  stands  first,  energy  second,  and  beauty  as 
subordinate  to  these.  The  third  without  the  first  and  sec- 
ond is  a  real  defect,  but  with  them  heightens  the  whole 
efi"ect  of  the  sermon.  If  style  lacks  perspicuity,  all  other 
qualities  count  nothing.  It  is  better  to  have  clearness 
without  energy,  than  energy  without  clearness.  It  is  bet- 
ter to  have  energy  without  beauty,  than  beauty  without 
energy,  though  neither  energy  nor  beauty  can  have  much 

1  Kames'  Elements  of  Criticism,  edited  by  J.  R.  Boyd,  p.  275. 

2  H.  W.  Beeeher,  in  College  Cuurani. 


43 o  The  Pi^eache}'  and  His  Sei'iuo7i^ 

value  without  clearness;  but  clearness  and  energy  without 
■beauty  are  better  than  clearness  and  beauty  without  energy. 
Clearness  is  the  one  indispensable  requisite  in  every  con- 
ceivable circumstance.  The  other  two  qualities  stand  re- 
lated as  second  and  third  best.  A  preacher  should  be 
forcible,  and  sometimes  rhetorically  fascinating;  but  he 
must  he  clear,  or  with  all  his  power  and  beauty  of  utterance 
he  will  not  be  understood.  Obscurity  is  the  greatest  fault 
in  pulpit  style.  "We  should  earnestly  seek  for  clearness 
and  force,  but  never  for  beauty;  but  we  should  expect 
beauty  as  a  natural  product  of  gospel  truth.  "He  who 
finds  beauty  shall  lose  it,  but  he  who  loses  beauty  shall 
find  it."  1 

§    II.      SECONDARY    QUALITIES. 

There  are  some  other  properties  of  style,  which,  though 
not  fundamental,  are  nevertheless  important.  We  men- 
tion : 

1.  The  scriptural  style.  The  sermon  should  be  strongly 
flavored  with  a  Bible-sentiment.  A  discourse  need  not 
be  composed  of  scripture  quotations  alone,  but  it  may  be 
imbued  with  scriptural  scenes,  imagery,  facts,  illustrations, 
thoughts,  language,  etc.  A  preacher  may  have  his  favor- 
ite authors,  such  as  Bunyan,  Milton,  Thomas  k  Kempis, 
and  have  his  quiver  full  of  the  plumage  of  their  thoughts, 
but  his  mind  must  be  steeped  in  the  fountain  of  Sacred 
Writ,  and  saturated  with  its  spirit.  This  makes  D.  L. 
Moody  such  an  effective  preacher.  Though  many  be  igno- 
rant of  the  Bible,  yet,  with  the  generality  of  hearers, 
thoughts  are  better  understood  in  a  biblical  dress  than  in 
any  other.  Vmet,  upon  this  point,  gives  the  following 
advice  to  every  preacher:  "Feed  upon  the  Bible,  live  in 
the  Bible,  unite  yourself  to  it;  let  it  abound  in  your  raem- 

I  Shedd's  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  93. 


Secondary  Qualities.  431 

ory  and  heart;  let  a  frequent  personal  study  of  it  reveal  to 
you  the  force,  give  you  the  secret  of  a  multitude  of  pas- 
sages, which  without  such  study  would  remain  to  you  as 
mere  commonplaces,  and  take  no  root  in  your  memory; 
mix  the  recollection  of  them  with  your  most  tender  affec- 
tions, with  your  praj^ers,  your  gravest  occupations;  let  the 
words  of  scripture  gradually  become  the  natural  and  invol- 
tmtary  form  of  your  most  inward  thoughts; — then  meditate 
on  a  subject  for  the  pulpit;  write;  preach;  your  word  will 
come  filled  with  the  richness,  interblended  with  the  colors 
of  the  word  of  inspiration."  ^ 

2.  The  style  will  sometimes  be  sublime.  Such  a  style  is 
appropriate  in  describing  such  objects  and  ideas  as  trans- 
port the  mind  and  fill  it  with  veneration  and  awe.  Sub- 
limity lies  in  the  thought  and  object  rather  than  in  the 
language.  The  wide  expanse  of  ocean,  the  canopy  of 
heaven,  a  precipice,  or  a  peak  hiding  its  head  in  the  clouds, 
the  power  of  gravitation  amid  the  harmony  of  heaven,  are 
-all  objects  of  sublimity.  In  preaching,  more  than  in  any 
other  species  of  oratory,  is  there  occasion  for  this  style; 
for  in  the  realm  of  sacred  truth  are  found  the  sublimest 
themes.  Nothing  can  be  more  truly  sublime  than  the 
greatness  of  God,  his  attributes  and  works,  as  well  as 
human  responsibility  and  destiny,  and  the  various  subjects 
of  eschatology. 

The  language  in  which  lofty  thoughts  are  expressed  is 
not  necessarily  lofty,  but  often  simple  and  concise.  What 
impression  of  divine  power  is  conveyed  by  the  simple 
words  of  Moses,  "  God  said.  Let  there  be  light:  and  there 
was  light."  With  the  same  majestic  simplicity,  Christ 
■calls  a  dead  man  to  life, — "Lazarus,  come  forth," — and 
hushes  a  tempest  with,  "  Peace,  be  still."  Generally,  sub- 
lime conceptions  are  expressed  by  bold  figures  and  images, 

I  Homiletics,  p.  420. 


432  TJie  PreacJier  a?id  His  Sermon. 

an  example  of  which  may  be  seen  in  Milton's  description 
of  the  battle  of  angels  in  "  Paradise  Lost."  ^ 

This  style  should  never  be  used  unless  the  nature  of  the 
thought  and  feeling  demands  it.  To  force  a  trivial  object 
into  sublimity,  or  to  unduly  exalt  a  sublime  object,  is  bom- 
bast and  fustian. 

3.  The  style  should  always  be  nataral.  A  preacher  is 
always  the  most  successful  when  he  speaks  in  a  style  that 
is  perfectly  natural  to  him.  To  imitate  the  style  of  elo- 
quent preachers  is  putting  Saul's  armor  on  David,  and 
renders  the  preacher  awkward  before  the  people.  "We  do 
not  wish  to  hear  Chalmers  from  any  but  Chalmers."  ^ 
Besides,  in  copying  the  excellences  of  great  speakers  we 
may  also  copy  their  faults.  Use  and  improve  the  gifts  God 
gave  you,  rather  than  tliose  which  he  did  not  give  to  you 
but  to  others. 

Yet  one's  natural  style  may  have  serious  defects.  It  is 
natural  for  some  preachers  to  be  obscure;  to  be  flowery  in 
diction,  without  being  clear  or  energetic;  to  become  excited 
over  the  most  trivial  subjects,  or  to  dwell  indifiereutly 
upon  the  sublimest  sentiments.  Such  individuality  of 
style,  however  characteristic  of  a  speaker,  can  not  be  com- 
mended. Truth  has  a  naturalness  sai  generis,  and  a  preach- 
er's natural  way  of  presenting  truth  may  present  truth  very 
unnaturally.  To  be  truly  natural,  one's  peculiar  habits  of 
speaking  must  be  conformed  to  the  requirements  of  the 

1  See  example  of  the  sublime  style  in  Psalms  cxiv;  Isaiah  Iv.  1,  12;  Hahakkiilc  iii.  10. 
One  of  tlie  best  examples  of  the  sublime  style  may  be  found  in  the  conctlusion  of  one  of 
Whitefield's  sermons,  of  -.vhich  the  iiiHdel  Hume,  who  heard  it,  said,  "  It  surpassed  ev 
erything  I  ever  saw  or  heard."  The  preacher,  after  a  solemn  pause,  thus  addressed  his 
h  arers:  "The  attendant  angel  is  just  about  to  leave  the  threshold  and  ascend  to 
heaven;  and  shall  he  ascend  and  not  bear  with  him  the  news  of  one  sinner,  among  all  this 
multitude,  reclaimed  from  the  error  of  his  ways?"  Then  he  lilted  up  his  hands  and 
eyes  to  heaven,  stamped  with  his  foot,  ami  with  gushing  tears  cried  aloud,  "  Stop,  Gab- 
riel 1  S'.op,  Gabriel  II  Stop,  Gabriel!!!  ere  you  enter  the  sacred  portals,  and  yet  carry 
■with  you  the  tidings  of  o;i«  sinner  converted  to  God."  The  ett'ect  was  electrical,  tha 
assembly  melted  into  tears. 

2  Hojipiu's  Ilomiletiai,  p.  737. 


Means  of  Acquiring  a  Good  Style. 


i-vjj 


nature  of  each  truth  which  he  presents,  so  that  after 
listening  to  such  a  presentation  thereof  we  feel  that  the 
preacher  could  not  have  spoken  it  in  any  other  way.  One 
with  a  correct  conception  of  truth  will  always  thus  speak. 
Hence  the  advice,  "Be  yourself  rather  than  an  angel" 
under  all  circumstances,  is  not  a  safe  rule,  and  should 
rather  be,  "Be  truth-like  rather  than  yourself."  This  re- 
quires that  the  preacher  be  sometimes  fearfully  bold,  some- 
times wooingly  gentle;  now  energetic,  and  then  elegant; 
here  sublime,  and  there  calm.  At  one  time  may  be  seen  the 
dark,  lowering  clouds  of  impending  wrath,  and  at  another 
a  clear  sky  spanned  with  a  beautiful  rainbow  of  promise; 
for  a  time  the  heart  is  thrilled  with  ecstasy,  and  anon  made 
to  bleed  with  sadness.  A  natural  style,  therefore,  like  a 
thermometer,  will  vary  with  the  temperature  of  truth. 

But  while  there  are  many  qualities  that  interchange  with 
each  other  in  the  delivery  of  a  sermon,  there  are  two  that 
should  never  vary.  The  preacher  may  sometimes  be  forci- 
ble, sometimes  beautiful,  sometimes  sublime,  according  to 
the  nature  of  an  idea;  but  he  must  be  always  clear ^  and 
always  natural. 

§   III.      MEANS    OF   ACQUIRING   A   GOOD   STYLE. 

ITot  every  preacher  is  skilled  in  the  production  of  the 
qualities  above  described,  and  those  who  are  not  thus 
skilled  need  to  know  something  about  the  means  of  acquir- 
ing and  cultivating  a  good  style.  So  essential  is  it  to  speak 
well  in  public,  that  no  pains  should  be  spared  in  the  earlier 
as  well  as  in  the  later  years  of  our  ministry,  in  curing  de- 
fects, and  improving  whatever  gifts  of  speaking  we  already 
possess.     This  may  be  done  — 

1.  By  careful  attention  to  conversation.  It  has  already 
been  stated,  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  that  the 
model  conversational   style  is  essentially  a  model  for  the 


434  ^/^^  Preacher  and  His  Scrmoji. 

pulpit.  The  preaclier,  then,  should  cultivate  daily  a  model 
style  of  conversation,  strictly  avoiding  all  the  faults  of 
thoughtless  persons  around  him,  and  imitating  the  excel- 
lences of  those  who  are  adepts  in  this  art.  The  language 
of  our  childhood  is  usually  very  defective,  being  mixed 
with  the  infections  of  bad  example  daily  surrounding  us  in 
youth,  so  that  time  and  effort  are  required  in  adult  years 
to  rid  ourselves  of  the  evil  habits  acquired  in  early  life. 
Pains  and  patience,  however,  will  do  wonders  in  correcting 
the  erroneous  habits  of  childhood  and  in  enabling  one  to 
acquire  facility  in  proper  expression.  Let  him  who  would 
become  a  natural  and  easy  pulpit  orator  practice  daily  and 
continually,  in  his  conversation  with  the  family,  in  the  par- 
ish, on  the  street,  and  wherever  he  goes,  the  most  approved 
and  easy  style  of  communicating  his  thoughts,  remember- 
ing that  wdiat  becomes  habitual  and  natural  in  ordinary 
conversation  will  also  become  habitual  and  natural  in  the 
pulpit.  "  In  order  to  speak  well  sometimes,  it  is  necessary 
to  speak  well  always."  ^  "  Let  him  make  sparing  use  of 
contractions.  Let  him  not  allow  a  low  or  slang  word  to 
slip  out;  for  the  expressions  one  is  accustomed  to  use  in 
conversation  will  surely  show  themselves  in  the  pulpit, 
especially  in  extemporaneous  discourse.  *  *  --r^  *  A  re- 
fined man  is  shown  in  his  conversation  more  quickl}^  than 
in  any  other  wa3^  Burnet,  in  the  '  History  of  His  Own 
Time,'  says  of  Leighton,  '  In  a  free  and  frequent  conver- 
sation with  him  for  twenty-two  years  I  never  heard  him 
utter  an  idle  word,  or  a  word  that  had  not  a  direct  tend- 
ency to  edification.'  "  ^ 

2.  By  a  diligent  stiuhj  of  the  lanr/aage  in  which  he  speaks. 
Such  study  must  include  a  knowledge  of  the  nature  and 
history  of  the  language,  and,  if  possible,  an  acquaintance 

I  Coquerel. 

a  Hoppin's  Homilctics,  pp.  746,  747. 


Means  of  Acquiring  a   Good  Style.  435 

witti  the  ancient  languages,  as  the  only  true  foundation 
for  success  in  mastering  the  English.  He  should  never 
■become  delicieut  in  grammar,  no  matter  how  complete  his 
knowledge  of  this  branch  in  his  former  school-days.  Let 
him  carefully  study  the  etymology  and  definition  of  words, 
and  accumulate  an  extensive  vocabulary  on  the  various 
theological  ideas,  out  of  which  to  select  the  most  suitable 
words  to  express  an  idea  in  its  various  forms  and  shades.^ 
It  is  therefore  essential  that  the  orator  be  provided  with  a 
•copious  vocabulary,  and  that  he  possess  an  entire  com- 
mand of  all  the  resources  and  appliances  of  his  language. 
In  the  study  of  the  English  language,  one  will  obtain 
much  help  from  such  works  as  Miiller's  "  Science  of  Lan- 
guage;" Whitney's  "Language  and  the  Study  of  Lan- 
guage;" Marsh's  "Lectures  on  the  English  Language;" 
Alford's  "The  Queen's  English;"  Trench's  "English,  Past 
and  Present,"  and  "Study  of  Words;"  Mathews'  "Words, 
Their  Use  and  Abuse;  "  also,  Angus'  "  Hand-Book  of  the 
English  Tongue."  Roget's  "Thesaurus  of  English  Words" 
■is  indispensable.  Crabb's  or  Whately's  "  Synonymes," 
or  Smith's  "  Synonymes  Discriminated,"  should  be  used  in 
■connection  with  Poget.  Of  course  the  minister  will  have 
i^  Webster's  or  Worcester's  unabridged  dictionary.  On 
English  grammar.  Fowler's  "  English  Language  in  its 
E^lements  and  Forms,  with  a  History  of  its  Origin  and 
Development,"  is  best  for  one  acquainted  with  the  rudi- 
ments of  grammar.  One  should  become  versed  in  the 
meaning  of  words  in  their  trosI  common  acceptation.      Let 

1  "  A  well-educated  person  in  England  seldom  uses  more  than  about  three  thousand 
or  four  thousand  words  in  actual  conversation.  Accurate  thinkers  and  close  reasoners, 
who  avoid  vague  and  general  expressions,  and  wait  till  they  find  the  word  that  exactly 
fits  their  meaning,  employ  a  larger  stock ;  and  eloquent  speakers  may  rise  to  a  com- 
mand of  ten  thousand.  Shakespeare,  who  displayed  a  greater  variety  of  expressions 
than  probably  any  other  writer  in  any  language,  produced  all  his  plays  with  about  fifteen 
thousand  words.  Milton's  prose  works  are  built  up  with  eight  thousand;  and  the  Old 
Testament  says  all  that  it  has  to  say  with  five  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-two 
■»yords."— MuUer's  Science  of  Language,  p.  266. 


43  6  TJie  Pi'eacher  and  His  Sei^mon. 

him  note  the  language  of  eloquent  speakers,  whether  sec- 
ular or  pulpit,  to  whom  he  has  listened. 

3.  By  the  careful  reading  of  the  best  literature.  He  must 
pass  hy  all  the  inferior,  and  study  the  very  hest,  models  of 
style.  "  Great  but  mistaken  are  the  efforts  which  some 
preachers  make  to  acquire  style  —  an  elegaiit  style.  They 
read  the  magazines,  they  pore  over  novels,  they  study 
Emerson,  and  even  Parker,  not  to  speak  of  Macaulay  and 
De  Quincey.  *  *  *  *  As  a  consequence  their  pulpit  style 
is  miserably  vitiated,  and  they  become  vain  of  its  very 
defects  and  blemishes." '  Reading,  like  conversation,  givea 
character  to  our  style  of  pulpit  address.  "As,  when  I 
walk  in  the  sun,  even  though  I  walk  for  another  reason, 
my  complexion  is  yet  colored;  so,  when  I  have  read  these 
books  [Greek  authors],  I  feel  that  my  style  of  speaking  is 
as  it  were  colored  by  their  influence."^  The  readers 
mind  is  like  a  camera  ohsciira;  it  receives  a  distinct  im- 
press of  both  the  olyect — thought — and  its  dress — language 
— which  come  within  the  range  of  his  reading.  By  read- 
ing authors  we  imbibe  their  spirit  and  style,  just  as  the 
suckling  derives  its  nutriment  and  likeness  from  its  mother. 
Goethe  received  his  style  from  Shakespeare;  Robertson 
from  Plato,  Aristotle,  Thucydides,  Butler,  and  Edwards. 
!N"othing  will  more  greatly  aid  us  in  acquiring  good  style 
than  the  reading  of  good  models.  ^ 

4.  By  careful  "practice  in  writing.  This  is  the  most  effect- 
ual method  of  utilizing  the  former  three  means  of  im- 

1  Kidder'3  HoviUe.tiCH,  pp.  304,  305. 

2  Cicero's  De  Orntore,  W.,  15,  16,  quoted  by  Broadus. 

3  For  Perspicuity:    Chalmers,  Arelibishop  Whately,  Dr.  Eminonds. 
For  Energy:     Milton,  Uiixter. 

For  Beauty:    Chrysostom,  Jeremy  Taylor. 
For  Precision:    Bishop  Hall,  Lord  Jeffrey,  Robert  South. 
For  Simplicity:     Buiiyan,  Spur^eon. 
For  Sublimity:    Milton,  Jeremy  Taylor. 

For  Purity:    Thomas  Hooker,  Wordsworth,  Washington  Irving. 

Robert  Hall  is  a  model  of  style  in  many  respects.  But  above  all,  nothing  affords  a 
better  example  of  style  than  the  Bible. 


Means  of  Acquiring-  a   Good  Style.  437 

provement.  The  best  conversation  is  a  hurried  exercise, 
more  for  the  sake  of  interchange  of  thought  than  for 
discipline  in  style;  the  study  of  one's  language  furnishes 
the  elements  of  style,  and  reading  the  example;  but  writ- 
ing brino;s  them  all  into  the  most  careful  and  critical 
practice,  and  creates  a  style  essentially  one's  own.  Writing 
is  "the  best  teacher  of  eloquence,"^  and  "maketh  an  exact 
man."  2 

For  the  exercise  of  this  method  we  ofier  the  following 
suggestions:  Select  a  subject;  invent  thought;  get  inter- 
ested before  beginning  to  write.  When  ready,  write  as 
rapidly  and  continuously  as  possible;  write  in  the  style  of 
-extemporaneous  address.  When  done,  review,  criticise, 
revise,  with  the  severest  scrutiny  in  respect  to  style.  Let 
it  now  lie  for  some  time,  then  review  it  again,  with  altera- 
tions and  corrections,  until  the  composition  meets  the  re- 
quirements of  style  as  given  in  this  chapter.  Some  recom- 
mend the  practice  of  writing  translations  into  English  from 
•other  languages,  or  reproducing  with  the  pen  one's  own 
version  of  the  thoughts  of  different  English  authors;  but 
we  deem  the  first  plan  preferable,  because  style  is  not  only 
the  expression  of  thought,  but  the  character  of  thought  as 
well. 

5.  By  occasionally  obtaining  the  criticisms  of  some  compe- 
tent judge  of  preaching  who  may  happen  to  hear  you  preach. 
With  all  the  care  and  practice  already  pointed  out,  one 
may  yet  possess  faults  of  which  he  is  entirely  unconscious. 
While  the  ablest  critics  may  differ  in  their  taste  and  stand- 
ard of  style,  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  "  we  never  see 
our  faults  as  others  see  them."  Especially  may  the  junior 
preacher  with  profit  to  himself  encourage,  rather  than  dis- 
courage, the  free  expression  of  pious  and  able  men's  opin- 

I  Cicero. 
a  Bacon. 


438  TJie  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

ions  concerning  his  style.  If  Le  is  sincere,  and  possesse(J 
of  the  right  motive,  no  amount  of  approbation  can  inflate^ 
him  with  vanity,  and  no  censure  can  discourage  him.  If  a 
preacher  will  be  "  spoiled  by  praise "  he  is  not  a  good 
preacher.  The  successful  preacher  must  hear  of  many 
eulogies  upon  his  efibrts;  and  an  inability  to  stand  this 
test  is  an  inability  to  preach  well,  and  will  forever  bar 
his  road  to  success.  The  same  may  be  said  of  censure.  A 
qualified  and  conscientious  preacher  will  always  look  upon 
those  who  truly  tell  him  of  his  faults  as  his  best  friends. 

But  the  preacher  should  never  think  about   his  style- 
while  in  the  act  of  preaching.    Let  him  do  that  afterward,, 
and  seek  to  remedy  former  defects,  discovered  by  himself 
or  others,  in  his  preparation  for  the  next  effort. 

Finally,  the  preacher  who  wishes  to  be  successful  in  the- 
art  of  speaking  must  apply  himself  with  an  iron  will  to  the 
task  of  acquiring  and  perfecting  a  model  pulpit  style. 
"  Such  an  acquirement  is  not  to  be  gained  by  idle  wishes- 
or  faint  endeavors.  The  modes  of  failure  are  numerous,, 
the  path  to  success  is  long  and  often  difficult.  But  it  is 
rendered  attractive  by  the  fame  of  those  who  have  trav- 
ersed it.  Few,  if  any,  of  the  great  orators  of  the  past 
have  attained  the  goal  of  success  without  diligent  and  self- 
denying  elementary  efforts;  and  let  it  never  be  said  that 
any  one  called  of  God  to  preav^h  the  gospel  is  unable  or 
unwilling  to  put  forth  equal  exfAt^'us  to  attain  proficiency 
in  effective  speaking."^ 


I  Kidder's  Jlomiletics,  p.  347. 


CHAPTER    III. 

MODE.S  OF  DELIVERY. 

Brief  History  of  the  DifiFerent  Modes  of  Delivery— Tlie  Reading  Method — 
The  Memoriter  Method  — The  Extemporaneous  Method  —  The  Com- 
posite Method  —  Some  Practical  Suggestions  and  Advice. 

Public  speaking  is  an  art.  It  does  not  come  by  instinct, 
or  chance,  and  our  first  attempts  must  necessarily  be  awk- 
ward and  unsuccessful.  The  preacher's  chief  business  is 
to  speak  in  the  public  congregation,  and  that  in  the  best 
manner  that  culture  and  experience  can  bestow  upon  his 
faithful  efforts.  A  good  delivery  is  not  acquired  in  a  day, 
nor  by  random  experiments,  but  by  much  practice  accord- 
ing to  the  most  approved  methods  of  speaking. 

The  modes  of  delivery  which  will  be  presented  in  this 
chapter  are  the  fruits  of  experience.  They  are  gathered 
from  the  actual  practice  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  all  ages, 
whose  oratorical  history  abounds  in  successes  and  failures, 
according  as  they  adopted  the  right  or  wrong  method  of 
speaking. 

§  I.   BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  MODES  OF  DELIVERY. 

Few  questions  pertaining  to  homiletics  have  been  more 
ardently  discussed  during  the  last  few  centuries  than  the 
merits  and  demerits  of  the  various  modes  of  delivering 
sermons.  In  order  to  decide  which  method  has  received 
the  commendation  of  the  best  writers  and  preachers  of  all 
ages,  we  will  briefly  examine  the  history  of  the  difl'erent 

modes. 

439 


440  The  Preacher  and  His  Se7nno7i. 

Extemiporaiuous  preaching  was  the  primitive  mode,  used 
by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  prevailed  almost  exclusively 
during  the  early  ages  of  the  church.  "We  have  no  historic 
evidence  of  many  sermons  being  read  or  recited  during  the 
first  three  centuries;  but  it  is  well  known  that  the  dis- 
courses of  Ambrose,  Jerome,  Origen,  and  Chrysostom  were 
extemporaneous,  and  that  they  were  all  taken  down  by 
reporters,  and  so  preserved  for  posterity.'  These  sermons 
give  many  internal  evidences  of  having  been  spoken  ex- 
temporaneously; for  they  contain  many  passages  which 
evidently  owed  their  origin  to  some  passing  events  which 
could  not  have  been  premeditated. 

"'We  are  also  informed  by  Chrysostom  that  his  sub- 
ject was  frequently  suggested  to  him  by  something  he 
met  with  on  his  way  to  church,  or  which  suddenly  occur- 
red during  divine  service.'  Reference  is  made  in  a  note 
to  a  sermon  of  Chrysostom,  chosen  on  his  way  to  church, 
when  he  saw,  in  the  winter,  lying  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
church,  many  sick  persons  and  beggars;  and,  touched 
with  pity,  he  felt  constrained  to  exhort  his  hearers  to 
works  of  brotherly  kindness  and  charity,  and  also  ref- 
erence is  made  to  the  turn  given  to  his  discourse  when 
the  lighting  of  the  lamps  drew  away  the  attention  of  his 
hearers."  ^ 

The  memoriter  method  was  introduced  about  the  fourth 
century,  and  adopted  by  tlie  more  indolent  and  disqualiiied 
ecclesiastics,  who,  either  unwilling  or  unable  to  produce 
good  sermons  of  their  own,  took  to  the  habit  of  com- 
mitting and  reciting  the  sermons  of  able  preachers.  Many 
of  the  homilies  of  Cyril,  of  Alexandria,  were  committed 
to  memory  by  Greek  bishops  as  models  of  Christian  decla- 

1  'Ofvypd^ot,  note-takers,  or  short-hand  writers,  were  men  licensed  by  authority  to 
tuke  down  public  addresfics,  who,  after  reporting,  submitted  their  manuscript  to  the 
preacher  l>efore  publieiition. 

2  llojjjjin'b  Office  and  Work  of  the  ClirUtian  Ministrt/,  pp.  31,  35. 


History  of  the  Different  Modes  of  Delivery.     441 

mation;  and  Augustine,  in  his  tract  on  ■'  Christian  Teach- 
ing," justifies  the  practice  of  committing  and  reciting 
sermons  on  the  part  of  "  tliose  who  are  destitute  of  inven- 
tion, but  can  speak  well,  provided  they  select  well-written 
discourses  of  another  man,"  hut  strongly  urges  the  preacher 
''  to  repeat  the  same  thing  by  giving  it  difi'erent  terms,  till 
he  perceives  it  is  understood;  an  advantage  which  those 
can  not  have  who,  by  a  servile  dependence  on  their  memo- 
ries, learn  their  sermons  by  heart,  and  repeat  them  as  so 
many  lessons."  ^  This  mode,  however,  was  not  the  uni- 
versal practice  of  this  period;  for,  according  to  Neander, 
"  the  sermons  were  sometimes,  though  rarely,  read  from 
notes;  sometimes  freely  delivered;  and  sometimes  they 
were  altogether  extemporary."  ^ 

The  practice  of  reading  sermons  did  not  originate  until 
the  sixteenth  century,  immediately  after  the  Reformation, 
and  has  not  since  prevailed  much  outside  the  English - 
speaking  race.  Bishop  Burnet,  in  his  "  History  of  the 
Reformation  of  the  Church  of  England,"  supposes  that 
the  introduction  of  this  mode  was  owing  to  the  necessity 
of  indoctrinating  the  people  by  the  best  means  available, 
and  to  the  scarcity  of  qualified  preachers  after  the  Refor- 
mation. To  aid  in  promulgating  the  truth,  a  book  of  hom- 
ilies was  accordingly  prepared,  "  and  these  were  to  bo  read 
to  the  people  by  such  as  were  not  licensed  to  preach.  But 
those  who  wei'e  licensed  to  preach  being  oft  accused  for 
their  sermons,  and  complaints  being  made  to  the  king  by 
hot  men  on  both  sides,  they  came  generally  to  write  and 
road  their  sermons.  From  thence  the  reading  of  sermons 
grew  into  practice  in  this  church,"  However,  this  prac- 
tice, he  says,  "  excited  general  alarm,  indignation,  and 
disgust;"  and   in   1674,  during  the   reign  of  Charles  II., 

I  Quoted  by  Kidder,  Eomiletics,  pp.  321,  322. 
a  Neander's  Oiurch  History,  II.,  p.  317. 


442  The  Preacher  and  His  Se7nnon. 

the  following   royal  decree  against  the  custom  was  pub- 
lished : 

Mr.  Vice-Chancellor  akd  Gentlemen: — Whereas  his  Majesty  is 
informed  that  the  practice  of  reading  sermons  is  generally  taken  up  by 
the  preachers  before  the  university,  and  therefore  continued  even  before 
himself,  his  Majesty  hath  commanded  me  to  signify  to  you  his  pleasure 
that  the  said  practice,  which  took  beginning  with  the  disorders  of  the 
late  times,  be  wholly  laid  aside  ;  and  that  tlie  aforesaid  preachers  deliver 
their  sermons,  both  in  Latin  and  English,  by  memory,  or  without  book, 
as  being  a  way  of  preaching  wliich  his  Majesty  judgeth  most  agreeable 
to  the  use  of  all  foreign  churches,  to  the  custom  of  the  university  here- 
tofore, and  to  the  nature  and  intendment  of  that  holy  exercise.  And 
that  his  Majesty's  commands  in  the  premises  may  be  duly  regarded  and 
observed,  his  further  pleasure  is  that  the  names  of  all  such  ecclesiastical 
persons  as  shall  continue  the  present  supine  and  slothful  tvay  of  preaching 
be  from  time  to  time  signified  unto  me  by  the   vice  chancellor  for  the- 

time  being,  upon  pain  of  his  Majesty's  displeasure. 

Monmouth. 

October  8,  IGT-l. 

In  spite  of  this  decree,  the  practice  of  reading  prevailed 
in  England  until  it  reached  the  height  of  formality  ia 
the  eighteenth  century.  The  prevalent  coldness  and  for- 
mality of  the  times  encouraged  it,  until  the  older  method, 
sanctified  though  it  was  by  the  example  of  all  Christian 
antiquity,  came  to  be  counted  a  token  of  fanaticism.  It  is 
said  of  a  clergyman  that  on  one  occasion  he  seriously  com- 
promised his  character  because  he  ventured  to  raise  his 
eyes  from  his  numuscript  during  the  reading  of  his  sermon. 
Then  followed  the  ignoble  practice  of  clergymen  "  borrow- 
ing sermons  from  one  another,  and  the  still  more  handy 
custom  of  lithographic  sermons  sold  at  so  much  the  dozen.. 
Under  such  practice  it  need  not  be  said  that  the  pul[)it 
suffered  greatly."  ^  In  our  time,  however,  there  is  again  a 
return  to  the  extemporaneous  method. 

Thus,  after  a  thorough  trial  of  the  various  modes  of 
delivery,  for  about  fourteen  hundred  years,  and  after  three- 

I  Bliiikie,  For  the  Work  of  the  Ministri/,  pp.  21G,  217. 


History  of  the  Differejit  Modes  of  Delivery.    443, 

hundred  years  of  discussion  upon  their  advantages  and 
disadvantages,  "the  hest  modern  opinion  is  in  favor  of  the 
primitive  mode  of  extemporaneous  address,  rendered,  how- 
ever, as  nearly  perfect  as  possible  by  collateral  and  auxiliary 
writing.'"^  Our  best  authors  on  homiletics,  such  as  Kidder, 
Shedd,  Broadus,  and  Hoppin,  all  strongly  advocate  the 
extempore  method.  In  the  Church  of  England,  the  homi- 
letic  writers,  Bridges,  Gresley,  and  Moore;  among  the 
Baptists,  Ripley,  Waj'land,  and  Broadus;  among  the  Pres- 
byterians, Skinner  and  Shedd,  unanimously  give  the  palm 
to  the  same  method.  Even  Ware,  a  Unitarian  author,  has 
written  the  most  systematic  treatise  on  extemporaneous 
preaching.  Among  the  Methodists,  "  not  one  is  known," 
says  Dr.  Kidder,  "that  was  ever  a  reader  of  sermons." 
The  United  Brethren  in  Christ  have  always  employed  this 
method. 

This  mode  of  delivery  was  also  adopted  by  the  most 
successful  preachers  of  nearly  all  denominations.  In  the 
Congregational  Church,  Charles  Backus,  W.  T.  D wight, 
Edward  Payson;  in  the  Presbyterian,  the  Alexanders,  S. 
K.  Kollock,  J.  M.  Mason,  George  Potts,  Gideon  Blackburn,. 
S.  Earned;  in  the  Baptist,  James  Manning,  Thomas  Bald- 
win, S.  H.  Cone,  E.  Tucker;  in  the  Episcopal,  Joseph 
Pilmoor,  J.  K.  Henshaw,  G.  T.  Bedell;  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  Bishops  Janes  and  Foster,  Dr.  Eddy,  Dr.  Dashiel;. 
in  the  United  Brethren,  Otterbein,  Markwood,  Alexander 
Owen, — all  who  possessed  a  high  reputation  as  the  most 
powerful  preachers,  were  accustomed  to  speak  extempora- 
neously. The  greatest  pulpit  orators  of  to-day,  iSTewman 
Hall,  Charles  H.  Spurgeon,  Joseph  Parker,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  T.  De  Witt  Talmage,  belong  to  the  school  of 
extemporaneous  address. 

From  these  historic   facts,  the   conclusion  is  inevitable 

X  Kidder's  Honiiletics,  p.  326. 


444  '^^^'^  Preacher  and  His  Sermo7i. 

that  the  original  and  time-honored  mode  of  speaking 
without  manuscript  is  the  hest  for  all  times  and  for  all 
men,  and  calculated  to  produce  the  most  efficient  preach- 
ing. Chalmers  and  Edwards,  perhaps,  were  exceptions; 
but  these  "sons  of  thunder"  possessed  such  an  ungovern- 
able flood  and  luxuriance  of  feeling  that  they  needed  the 
curb  of  the  manuscript  in  order  to  keep  them  within  legiti- 
mate bounds;  and  yet  Chalmers  read  his  paper  in  tones  of 
enthusiasm  that  "made  the  rafters  roar."  "During  the 
reading  of  his  sermons  Dr.  Chalmers  was  absolutely  terri- 
ble. His  heavy  frame  was  convulsed,  his  face  was  flushed; 
the  veins  on  his  forehead  and  neck  stood  out  like  whip- 
cords; the  foam  flew  from  his  mouth  in  flakes.  lie  hung 
over  his  audience,  menacing  them  with  his  shaking  fist,  or 
he  stood  erect,  manacled  and  staring."  ^  No  one  will  object 
to  that  kind  of  sermon-reading,  so  far  as  animation  is  con- 
cerned. "His  manuscript  burned,  but  some  of  our  modern 
manuscripts  ought  to  be  burned." 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  know  more  of  the  relative 
value  of  the  difierent  modes  of  delivery,  we  will,  deliber- 
xitely  and  fairly,  discuss  the  merits  and  demerits  of  each, 
so  that  we  may  be  prepared  to  give  some  practical  advice 
to  those  who  are  about  to  adopt  a  mode  for  themselves. 

§    II.       THE    READING    METHOD. 

This  method  is  much  adopted  by  the  public  lecturer  of 
to-day;  but  we  have  no  evidence  that  it  was  used  by  the 
orators  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome.  In  pulpit  oratory  it 
has  few  advocates,  and  is  gradually  falling  into  disrepute 
among  the  ablest  preachers  both  of  England  and  America. 
Nevertheless  it  is  practiced  by  the  majority  of  English  and 
American  Episcopal  clergy,  and  prevails  to  a  considerable 

I  British  Quarterly  Beview. 


The  Reading  Method.  445, 

extent  among   the  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  and 
Baptists  of  the  United  States. 

I.  The  following  are  the  principal  advantages  claimed 
in  its  favor: 

1.  Eeading  ^  secures  the  habit  of  more  careful  prepara- 
tion. In  extemporaneous  speaking  the  thoughts  are  not 
likely  to  be  as  mature,  and  as  full}^  developed  by  precise 
statements  and  exact  definitions,  as  in  the  written  form. 
The  pen  will  keep  our  thoughts  from  wandering,  and  give 
them  a  more  logical  tendency. 

2.  It  aids  in  securing  a  more  finished  style.  ISTo  doubt 
it  would  not  be  impossible,  by  proper  discipline,  for  men 
to  speak  as  well  as  they  write;  but  generally,  in  writing, 
they  are  more  grammatical,  precise,  rhetorical,  and  ele- 
gant, than  in  speaking.  Wendell  Phillips  is,  no  doubt, 
the  most  exact  extemporaneous  speaker  in  America;  yet 
he  seldom  delivers  a  speech  without  making  one  or  two 
grammatical  blunders.  If  fifty  years  of  culture  and  prac- 
tice on  the  part  of  so  facile  a  mind  could  not  correct  these 
linguistic  blemishes,  we  may  almost  despair  of  attaining 
verbal  perfection  in  extemporaneous  speaking. 

3.  If  the  preacher  is  of  a  nervous  temperament,  reading 
protects  him  from  fear  of  failure,  by  giving  him  ease  and  con- 
fidence both  before  and  during  delivery.  He  knows  that  his 
sermon  is  prepared,  and  that  his  paper  will  safely  conduct 
him  through  in  case  of  embarrassment.  He  has,  therefore, 
no  previous  anxiety  or  burden  upon  his  mind.  It  also 
gives  him  security  and  self-possession  in  the  presence  of 
any  distinguished  hearer  who  might  confuse  him,  or  any 
singular  occurrence  that  might  annoy  him  or  divert  his 
thoughts.  lie  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  read.  He  can  not 
forget  any  point,  he  can  not  get  lost  in  his  arguments,  nor 
mixed  up  in  the  thread  of  his  ideas;    he  can  not  break 

1  Reading,  of  course,  always  pi'e-supposes  writing. 


446  TJie  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

-down.  It  is  quite  a  relief,  then,  to  read  the  sermon,  as  a 
remedy  for  any  distressing  anxiety  that  a  diffident  preacher 
may  have  in  public  delivery. 

4.  The  written  sermon  can  be  2)reserved  for  future  use- 
fulness, and  thus  help  to  perpetuate  a  preacher's  religious 
influence.  Extemporaneous  sermons  are  like  time  itself — 
evanescent;  but  scripta  litera  manet.  They  "  spend  their 
life  in  their  birth,  and  may  have  public  audience  but 
once."  '  The  written  sermon,  however,  can  be  of  frequent 
service  during  a  preacher's  life-time.  He  can  use  it  again, 
without  spending  extra  time  and  labor  in  renewing  prepa- 
ration, when  he  is  too  ill,  or  too  old,  or  too  weary,  to  re- 
investigate a  difficult  subject,  or  when  he  is  removed  to  a 
new  charge,  or  is  too  busily  engaged  in  other  important 
duties.  Besides,  many  a  truly  eloquent  sermon  has  been 
lost  to  posterity,  because  never  committed  to  paper;  while 
the  written  discourse  has  been  published,  read,  and  prized 
by  thousands  who  never  had  the  opportunity  of  hearing  it 
delivered;  and  by  thus  preserving  and  transmitting  pulpit 
instruction,  many  a  preacher,  "  being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 

II.  While  we  admit  these  considerations  to  be  real 
advantages,  they  are  overbalanced  by  the  many  disad- 
vantages that  incumber  the  method  and  hinder  efiective 
delivery. 

1.  Heading  interferes  with  the  full  use  of  a  preacher's 
corporeal  powers.  The  confiued  attitude  of  the  reader  is 
unfavorable  to  the  freedom  and  power  of  effectual  delivery; 
and  most  of  the  gestures  and  expressions  of  the  counte- 
nance will  seem  unnatural.  The  eye,  so  expressive  of  the 
varied  emotions  of  the  soul,  and  so  helpful  to  eloquence,  is 
deprived  of  its  power  upon  audiences  while  fastened  upon 
a  manuscript.  The  preacher  speaks  of  the  stars  of  heaven 
while  he  is  watching  the  written  page;  his  soul  may  glow 

I  Hooker's  EcclesiastuxU  Rility,  Book  V.,  Cluip.  xxi. 


The  Reading  Method.  447 

•witli  eloquence,  and  shine  through  the  eye,  and  play  upon 
the  features,  but  the  sightless  paper  that  attracts  his  gaze 
shares  most  of  the  benefit.  The  voice,  also,  in  reading,  is 
naturally  more  monotonous  and  unnatural  than  in  free 
•speaking,  and  according  to  the  testimony  of  many  physi- 
cians, and  writers  on  vocal  culture,  suffers  greater  injuries 
from  the  practice  than  we  are  wont  to  believe.  "Sitting 
with  the  chin  dropped,  or  standing  with  the  face  turned 
■downward  toward  a  manuscript,  one  can  not  form  pure 
tones.  The  emission  of  sound  is  impeded.  The  position 
of  the  larynx  is  not  directly  over  the  windpipe.  Irritation 
of  the  throat  soon  results  from  these  constrained  posi- 
tions." ^  The  hands,  voice,  eyes,  and  face  are  all  media  of 
-communicating  thought;  and  to  be  deprived  of  their  per- 
fect use  is  to  be  deprived  of  the  full  force  of  language. 

2.  It  is  liable  to  degenerate  into  a  dull  and  slothful  way 
■of  ■preaching.  Reading  acts  as  a  restraint  to  earnestness. 
If  Chalmers  had  to  use  a  manuscript  to  check  the  volu- 
bility of  his  nature,  we  can  see  what  would  be  the  tendency 
of  such  a  practice  with  ordinary  or  apathetic  minds;  the 
generality  of  preachers  need  a  spur  rather  than  a  curb  in 
their  delivery,  and  the  same  sharp  bit  that  holds  a  fiery 
steed  will  be  a  hinderance  to  the  gentler  horse.  Many 
things  in  the  reading  method  tend  to  enfeeble  preaching. 
In  preparation,  the  absence  of  an  audience  to  inspire  and 
shape  every  sentence  with  breathing,  burning  life;  and 
in  delivery,  the  difficulty  of  bringing  one's  heart  into 
unison  with  what  he  has  written  and  is  now  reading,  or  of 
falling  en  rapport  with  the  soul  of  his  audience;  the  inter- 
ference-with  the  reciprocal  influence  between  speaker  and 
hearer;  and  the  preacher's  dependence  upon  a  prepared 
manuscript, —  all  help  to  rob  the  discourse  of  its  life  and 
quickening   spirit,   so  that  it   gradually  degenerates  into 

I  Prof.  E.  P.  Thwing's  Drill  Book  in  Vocal  Culture  and  Gesture,  p.  33. 


448  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

dulli  ess  and  deadness,  until,  finally,  we  bring  sermons  to 
church  "  as  we  do  a  corpse  for  a  burial."  * 

3.  It  involves  a  great  waste  of  precious  time  in  the  me- 
chanical work  of  writing.  A  minister  has  so  many  impor- 
tant duties  to  engage  his  mind  that  he  can  not  afford  to 
spend  so  many  hours  each  w^eek  in  the  mere  task  of  tran- 
scribing all  his  thoughts  for  the  pulpit.  Every  change  or 
improvement  in  the  sermon  requires  a  rewriting  of  the 
whole.  The  time  thus  employed  should  rather  be  devoted 
to  a  more  thorough  consideration  of  the  subject,  to  general 
improvement,  or  to  some  other  useful  employment.  Be- 
sides, the  great  strain  that  this  work  imposes  upon  the- 
mind  not  only  is  debilitating  through  excessive  labor,  but 
renders  it  impossible,  except  for  very  extraordinar}'-  minds, 
to  write  two  good  sermons  a  week.  Robert  Hall  says,  "A 
genius  can  write  a  sermon  in  a  month,  a  man  of  talent 
one  in  a  fortnight,  an  ordinary  man  one  in  a  week,  a  fool 
two  in  a  week." 

4.  It  prevents  the  preacher  from  using  new  thoughts  that 
may  occur  daring  the  delivery.  Many  good  ideas  often  occur 
after  the  sermon  is  written;  while  some  think  best  when 
engaged  in  the  act  of  speaking.  But  even  where  this  is 
not  the  case,  it  is  almost  universally  true  that  the  presence 
of  an  audience,  and  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 
the  mind  of  the  preacher  while  speaking,  bring  vividly 
before  the  mind  many  rich  thoughts  that  did  not  occur 
during  the  preparation.  "The  warmth  which  animates 
him  gives  birth  to  expressions  and  figures  which  he  could 
not  have  prepared  in  his  study."  ^  The  close  reader  loses 
the  benefit  of  all  such  spontaneous  impulses,  unless  pos- 
sessed of  a  peculiar  tact  in  turning  them  to  good  account 
as  they  occur.  But  the  men  who  can  do  this  successfully 
are  few. 

I  Baxter, 
a  Fenclon. 


The  Reading  Method.  449 

5.  In  close  relation  to  the  above  disadvantage  is  the 
fact  that  habitual  reading  disqualifies  one  for  speaking  when 
occasion  demands  immediate  and  extemporaneous  address. 
Preachers  accustomed  to  depend  on  a  written  preparation 
are  usually  unqualified  to  speak  with  great  effect  when 
called  upon  during  the  discussion  of  some  important  ques- 
tion which  allows  no  time  for  writing.  Conventions,  con- 
ferences, and  various  Christian  assemblies  not  only  afford 
inviting  fields  for  free  eloquence,  but  often  demand  power- 
ful efforts  of  extemporaneous  address.  How  humiliating 
for  a  preacher  to  be  shorn  of  his  strength  on  such  stirring 
occasions,  simply  for  want  of  a  manuscript.  It  is  not  the 
reading  of  a  fine  specimen  of  finished  composition  upon 
Bome  stirring  topic  that  is  then  in  demand,  but  a  readiness 
of  speech  that  can  grapple  with  pending  issues  in  the  clear- 
est and  strongest  style,  at  a  moment's  warning.  Such  a 
talent  is  worthy  of  being  earnestly  coveted. 

6.  To  sum  up  all  the  various  disadvantages  into  one 
general  and  formidable  objection  against  the  method,  it  is 
unquestionable  that  reading  is  unfavorable  to  the  highest 
order  of  eloquence  and  effectiveness.  The  interference  with 
the  free  use  of  the  physical  energies,  the  tendency  toward 
dullness  in  preaching,  the  disadvantage  of  being  unable 
to  use  new  thoughts  that  may  be  suggested  during  the  act 
of  speaking,  and  the  natural  timidity  and  inaptitude  in 
making  extemporaneous  addresses  before  various  public 
assemblies,  are  all  so  many  obstacles  to  true  eloquence,' 
the  highest  form  of  which  requires  the  fullest  natural  free- 
dom in  the  use  of  all  the  bodily  and  mental  powers.  The 
best  model  of  sermon-reading  has,  nevertheless,  something 
about  it  that  is  artificial;  for  the  eflbrt  to  seem  to  be  doing 
one  thing,  namely,  speaking,  while  in  reality  one  is  doing 

I  "The  practice  of  reading  sermons  is  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  eloquence."— 
Blair's  Bheioric,  p.  322. 
29 


450  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

another,  namely,  reading^  is  one  of  the  plainest  examples 
of  artificiality,  and  artificiality  is  antagonistic  to  true  elo- 
quence. There  is  an  eloquence  of  art  as  well  as  an 
eloquence  of  heart;  hut  the  difference  hetween  the  two  is 
as  great  as  the  difference  between  the  cold  marble  statue 
of  "Webster,  and  Webster  himself.^ 

Besides,  an  orator's  eloquence  will  be  inspired  according 
to  the  freshness  with  which  he  delivers  his  thoughts.  It  is 
almost  impossible,  after  a  sermon  is  written  out  in  full,  to 
read  it  with  "  spontaneous,  original,  native  force."  After 
it  has  once  been  cast  into  a  mold,  so  that  the  written 
words  become  a  gauged  track  upon  which  the  thoughts 
are  made  to  run,  one  may  not  only  read  without  thinking 
or  feeling  what  he  says,  but  it  is  a  psychological  fact  that 
the  mind  and  heart  cau  not  act  untrammeled  while  the  eye 
is  engaged  in  watching  and  tracing  a  written  page.  Hence, 
reading  a  book  never  impresses  us  as  much  as  public  speak- 
ing, because  it  lacks  the  personal  power  of  the  author. 
True  eloquence  is  concerned  chiefly  with  thought  and  feel- 
ing rather  than  with  language;  for  language  is  its  servant, 
and  not  its  master.  What  words  will  be  the  most  elo- 
quent—  those  which  are  prepared,  or  those  which  are 
spontaneous?  It  is  evident  that  the  phrases  which  occur 
to  us  in  extemporaneous  discourse  are  more  natural  and 
vivid  than  those  which  are  worked  out  in  our  study. 
Summerfield  used  to  say  that  "  the  best  word  was  the  word 
which  came  to  him  in  the  heat  of  the  moment."  In  such 
fervid  heart-utterances  we  will  attain  to  the  highest  elo- 
quence. An  unexpressed  idea  holds  the  mind  intent  and 
fixed  during  the  act  of  expression,  thus  giving  life  and 
vigor  to  its  birth;  but  when  the  idea  is  once  expressed  and 
recorded,  the  mind  relaxes  its  tension,  and  the  words  when 

I  Cf.  M.  Murray's  Preachen  and  Preaching,  p.  105. 


The  Memoriter  Method.  451 

repeated  become  empty  sounds,  intended  for  preservation 
rather  .than  for  impression. 

§   m.      THE   MEMORITER  METHOD. 

This  consists  in  writing,  committing,  and  reciting  the  ser- 
mon verbatim.  This  is  the  most  polished  and  artistic  mode 
of  delivery,  and  was  the  general  practice  of  most  of  the 
ancient  orators.  In  Scotland  and  France,  where  preaching 
is  less  frequent  than  with  us,  and  "  where  people  regard 
the  'paper'  with  horror,  it  is  a  common  practice  for  min- 
isters to  write  their  sermons,  then  to  learn  them  by  heart, 
clause  after  clause,  sentence  after  sentence,  paragraph  after 
paragraph."  *  Bourdaloue,  the  leading  court-preacher,  and 
the  eloquent  Guthrie,  of  whose  sermons  the  Scotch  women 
said,  "  They  would  have  been  good  even  if  he  had  whistled 
them,"  used  the  memoriter  method.  De  Ravignan,  La- 
cordaire,  and  P^re  Hyacinthe  also  were  memoriter  preach- 
ers. Monod,  Athanase  Coquerel,  Yinet,  and  especially  the 
German  Reinhard,  held  that  any  other  kind  of  preaching 
than  memoriter  was  inefficient,  indolent,  and  unworthy 
of  the  occasion  and  the  truth.  This  method  has  been 
adopted  by  many  with  a  view  of  overcoming  many  of  the 
disadvantages,  and  of  securing  most  of  the  advantages, 
of  the  reading  method.  It  has  all  its  advantages  except 
the  third,  and  escapes  all  its  disadvantages  except  the 
third,  fourth,  and  fifth.  But  nothing  is  gained  by  this 
method,  since  it  adds  other  disadvantages;  such  as; 

1.  A  great  tendency  to  unnaturalness.  The  recitation  is 
likely  to  be  mechanical,  and  the  preacher  to  become  auto- 
matic, imitating  tones  of  emotions  instead  of  actually  feeU 
ing  and  expressing  them.  Every  audience  can  detect  the 
trickery  of  art,  and  perceive  the  difierence  between  an 
extemporaneous  discourse  and  a  recitation;  and  this  dis- 

I  Dale's  Yale  Lectures. 


452  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

covery  will  expose  the  preacher  to  mauj  suspicions  of 
insincerity,  inability,  or  plagiarism.  The  men  who  can 
deliver  a  committed  sermon  with  the  naturalness  of  freo 
speech  are  few. 

2.  A  jpainful  liability  to  failure  that  may  result  from  a 
treacherous  memory.  The  memory  is  overburdened  with  an 
enormous  catalogue  of  systematically-arranged  words,  each 
to  be  uttered  in  its  proper  order  and  with  its  proper  em- 
phasis; and  the  first  displacement  or  omission  of  a  single 
word  is  liable  to  introduce  confusion  in  the  sense,  and 
excite  the  preacher's  fears.  The  eye  stares  on  vacancy,  the 
brow  is  contracted,  and  the  perplexed  and  distracted  mind 
is  running  to  and  fro  in  the  chambers  of  the  brain,  look- 
ing for  missing  words,  searching  in  the  dark,  very  much 
like  ^neas  when  calling  again  and  again  for  the  lost 
Creusa.  If  memory  fails  us  here  our  only  resort  is  gone, 
and  we  are  doomed  to  utter  failure  and  chagrin.  Even 
Bourdaloue  was  obliged  to  keep  his  eyes  partly  closed 
during  delivery,  lest  the  sight  of  the  congregation  should 
divert  his  attention  and  cause  him  to  forget  his  lesson. 

3.  The  excessive  labor  of  'preparation  is  injurious.  First, 
it  is  injurious  to  a  preacher's  usefulness.  We  have  already 
noticed  how  much  time  is  lost  in  the  habitual  writing  of 
sermons;  but  in  this  method,  in  addition  to  the  writing, 
two  or  three  days  each  week  are  ordinarily  required  to 
memorize  one  or  two  sermons,  which  are  forgotten  as  soon 
as  delivered.  Thus  about  one  half  of  a  preacher's  min- 
istry is  wasted  in  laborious  and  unprofitable  drudgery, 
which  if  employed  in  charitable  deeds  would  double  his 
usefulness,  and  morally  increase  his  life;  for,  "  We  live  in 
deeds,  not  years."  ^  Second,  it  is  detrimental  to  health.  If 
a  pastor  be  earnest,  and  slight  none  of  his  other  official 
duties,  the  additional  and  intolerable  strain  upon  his  mind 

I  p.  J.  Bailey. 


The  Extemporaneous  Method.  453 

of  writing  and  memorizing  two  sermons  eacli  week  will, 
if  continued  for  years,  finally  undermine  his  health,  and 
terminate  his  labors,  perhaps  before  his  work  is  half  done. 

§   IV.      THE   EXTEMPORANEOUS   METHOD. 

M.  Coquerel  says  that  the  extemporaneous  preacher 
"  knows  what  he  is  going  to  say,  but  does  not  know  how 
he  will  say  it."  ^  Here  the  matter  is  carefully  prepared  and 
arranged,  but  the  language  is  left  to  be  suggested  during 
the  time  and  act  of  delivery.  This  is  the  normal  and 
original  mode  of  speech ;  for  "no  doubt  men  spoke  in  public 
before  writing  was  invented,  as  often  now  among  savage 
tribes."^  Socrates  never  wrote;  and  when  asked  why  he 
did  not  write  out  his  instructions  he  said,  "  I  would  rather 
write  upon  the  hearts  of  living  men  than  upon  the  skins 
of  dead  sheep."  The  great  Teacher,  Christ,  never  wrote 
nor  read.  "  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are 
spirit,  and  they  are  life." 

This  mode  afibrds  the  greatest  facility  of  labor  and 
economy  of  time  in  preparation,  by  giving  rapidity  and 
penetrability  to  thought,  and  allowing  more  time  upon 
difficult  and  weighty  points.  The  sermon  is  also  more 
likely  during  delivery  to  become  reanimated  with  di- 
vine power,  which  will  clothe  the  thoughts  with  new 
freshness  and  unction.  It  is  the  most  popular  mode  with 
the  great  mass  of  hearers,  and  is  especially  adapted  to 
revivals  and  funeral  sermons.  In  short,  it  has  none  of  the 
disadvantages  of  the  reading  and  reciting  methods,  and,  when 
properly  managed,  may  possess  all  the  advantages  of  the  two 
combined.  It  is  therefore  the  ideal,  the  model  mode  of 
preaching,  and  should  be  cultivated  and  practiced  with  the 
most  faithful  perseverance  by  every  minister  of  the  gospel. 

I  Observations  Pratiques  sur  la  Predication,  p.  193. 
s  Broadus. 


454  '^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

"Whenever  any  great  movement  has  been  produced,  either 
in  church  or  state,  it  has  commonly  taken  its  rise,  so  far  as 
human  agency  is  concerned,  from  the  unwritten  words  of 
some  man  of  sound  knowledge,  and  thorough  disciphne, 
impelled  to  speak  by  strong  feeling  in  his  heart."  ^ 

Since  the  majority  of  the  best  writers  and  preachers 
advocate  and  practice  free  speaking,  the  presumption  is 
evidently  in  favor  of  the  extempore  method,  and  the 
burden  of  proof  {onus  'prohandi)  must  fall  upon  the  oppo- 
nent of  this  method.  Therefore,  without  reiterating  the 
many  advantages  usually  claimed  in  its  favor,  or  repeating 
what  has  been  mentioned  under  the  first  and  second  meth- 
ods, most  of  which  will  clearly  indicate  the  superior  merits 
of  this  third  method,  (for  naturally  the  opposite  of  every 
disadvantage  in  the  first  and  second  will  be  an  advantage 
in  the  third,  but  not  vice  versa,)  we  will  now  answer  the 
objections  to  this  method,  and  thereby  show  how  it  may 
secure  all  the  advantages  of  reading  or  reciting. 

Objection  1.  It  tends  to  indolence  in  'preparation,  and  to 
inaccuracy  of  thought.  ^ 

Answer.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  by  extem- 
poraneous preaching  we  mean  unpremeditated  or  unpre- 
pared preaching, —  a  method  chosen  to  avoid  severe  and 
careful  study,  and  because  it  is  the  least  troublesome.  On 
the  contrary,  preparation  for  extempore  preaching  demands 
a  thorough  mental  diagnosis  of  the  subject,  and  the  most 
perfect  command  of  its  subject-matter — a  thing  which  the 
written  sermon  often  lacks.  Being  obliged  to  give  consid- 
erable time  to  verbal  composition,  we  have  less  time  for 
maturing  and  mastering  a  fundamental  scheme  of  sermon- 
izing, often  beginning  to  write  without  much  depth  or 
grasp  of  thought.     Occasionally,  indolent  men  will  shirk 

I  Slredd's  Homiietici  and  Poitoral  Theology,  p.  243. 
a  See  page  446,  I.,  1. 


The  Extemporaneous  Method.  4,55 

this  preparatory  brain-work,  aud  preach  without  much 
premeditation.  But  this  is  an  abuse  of  the  method — a  fault 
of  the  preacher,  and  not  of  the  system;  and  such  men 
would  hardly  do  any  better  by  writing  their  sermons. 
Some  men  are  so  gifted  in  extemporaneous  speaking, 
through  long  practice  and  a  naturally  logical  mind,  that 
they  can  preach  the  most  effective  sermons  with  but  little 
previous  thought.  It  is  reported  of  St.  Augustine  and 
Chrysostom  that  they  sometimes  selected  their  subjects  on 
their  way  to  church.  John  Howe  possessed  such  stores  of 
thought,  and  so  thoroughly  were  they  digested,  that  he 
could  preach  as  methodically  without  preparation  as  others 
could  after  the  closest  study.  Henry  "Ward  Beecher  seldom 
selects  his  subjects  until  Sunday  mornings.  Such  extraor- 
dinary cases,  instead  of  proving  any  demoralizing  tendency 
in  the  system,  rather  show  its  superior  adaptation  to 
such  equipped  orators,  who  can  "look  a  subject  into  shape," 
and  speak  imjpromjptu  without  the  nuisance  of  a  prepared 
manuscript.  Ordinarily,  men  with  honest  desires  of  suc- 
cess will  work  harder  in  developing,  digesting,  and  assimi- 
lating their  sermons,  and  will  have  less  opportunity  for 
indolence,  in  the  extempore  method  than  in  the  writing 
and  reading  process,  in  which  they  can  borrow,  buy,  or 
copy  their  sermons  without  much  mental  labor. 

JSTor  will  the  sermon  be  less  accurate.  The  secret  of 
accurate  statement  and  correct  definition  is  a  clear  concep- 
tion of  the  truth  to  be  stated  or  defined.  If  this  conception 
has  become  familiar  to  the  preacher  in  his  study,  he  can 
better  communicate  it  to  the  hearers  through  free  speech 
than  through  a  written  statement;  for  he  can,  at  least, 
express  an  idea  as  correctly  with  the  tongue  as  with  the 
pen.  Then,  by  a  variety  of  statement,  imagery,  and  illus- 
tration, he  '•an  define  it  perfectly,  repeating  and  revolving 
an  idea.,  whnn  necessary,  until  the  mind  comprehends  the 


456  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

truth  he  wishes  to  convey.  "  Does  not  the  professor  in  his 
lecture-room  state  his  definitions  clearly,  and  does  he  not 
make  them  plain  to  his  students?  It  may  be  said  he  is 
familiar  with  them;  so  should  the  minister  be  with  defini- 
tions in  theology.  If,  after  having  studied  a  course  of 
divinity,  and  having  prepared  his  specific  sermon,  he  can 
not  trust  to  his  memory  for  the  necessary  definitions'  will 
they  be  easily  comprehended  by  his  people?"^  By  this 
process  an  idea  will  finally  be  defined  more  fully,  roundly, 
and  therefore  more  exactly,  than  can  be  done  by  any  single 
written  statement,  however  precise  or  correct.  The  writ- 
ten sermon  may  state  a  thing  so  precisely  and  briefly  that 
the  hearer  can  not  catch  half  its  meaning  as  the  preacher 
hurriedly  passes  along,  "  coldly  correct  and  critically  dull." 
The  true  object  of  preaching  is  to  fix  an  idea  in  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  the  hearers.  "  This  fixing  of  things  is  just 
what  written  sermons  rarely  do.  The  very  repetition 
which  the  writer  avoids  is  absolutely  needed  to  drive  the 
truth  home  and  imbed  it  in  the  very  consciousness  of  the 
listener."  Hence,  extemporaneously-delivered  sermons  can 
be  as  thorough  and  accurate  as  the  best  written  discourses; 
and  hence,  in  this  respect,  what  is  generally  considered  a 
rare  advantage  in  the  first  method  can  also  be  secured  in 
the  third. 

Objection  2.     The  style  will  be  less  elegant  and  complete. 

Answer.  In  reply,  it  may  be  said  that  elegant  and  fin- 
ished style  is  by  no  means  an  essential,  but  a  secondary 
quality  of  the  sermon.  Truth  scientifically  prepared  and 
exquisitely  served  may  be  more  palatable,  but  not  more 
nutritious.  Elegant  style  would  be  a  poor  substitute  for 
Christian  earnestness.  We  could  easily  sacrifice  the  former, 
if  thereby  we  could  gain  the  latter.  But  this  Exchange 
need  not  be  made  in  the  present  case;  for  unlike  any  other 

1  Bishop  M.  Simpson's  Yale  Lectures,  p.  171. 


The  Extemporaneous  Method.  457 

mode,  both  these  qualities  can  be  combined  in  the  extem- 
pore method.  "  If  it  be  supposed,  that  unwritten  discourse 
is  incompatible  with  accuracy  and  finish,  the  history  of 
literature  disproves  it.  Some  of  the  most  elaborate  lit- 
erary productions  were  orally  delivered.  The  blind  Homer 
extemporized  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey.  Milton,  in  his  blind- 
ness, dictated  to  his  daughter  the  Paradise  Lost.  Walter 
Scott  often  employed  an  amanuensis,  when  weary  of  com- 
posing- with  the  pen  in  hand.  Csesar,  it  is  said,  was  able 
to  keep  several  amanuenses  busy,  each  upon  a  distinct 
subject."  ^  These  men  were  models  in  elegant  and  forci- 
ble style,  and  prove  that  men  by  continued  practice  can 
speak  as  well  as  they  can  write,  and  that  an  extemporane- 
ous sermon  can  equal  a  written  one  in  point  of  elegance 
and  finish. 

Ohjeetion  3.  It  exposes  one  to  an  unpleasant  fear  of  failure, 
Ansiver.  This  dread  of  failure  is  felt  most  keenly  by  the 
beginner,  and  will,  therefore,  soon  be  overcome  by  practice 
and  experience.  But  some  experienced  preachers  are 
always  apprehensive  of  faihire  in  extemporaneous  speak- 
ing. This  fear  arises  either  from  a  lack  of  preparation,  a 
wrong  motive,  or  a  nervous  constitution.  In  the  first  case, 
the  remedy  is  self-evident.  In  the  second,  if  the  preacher 
is  afraid  that  he  will  fall  below  the  level  of  a  previous 
■effort,  or  below  his  predecessor  in  the  pulpit,  and  that  per- 
haps he  can  not  sustain  or  increase  his  popularity;  or,  if 
he  watches  for  applause,  and  would  like  to  play  the  orator 
and  win  a  great  name,  his  motive  is  radically  wrong.  Such 
selfish  solicitude  will,  sooner  or  later,  be  sure  to  end  in 
failure;  and  the  failure  must  be  mortifying,  indeed,  when 
once  it  does  come.  The  very  fact  of  the  presence  of  fear 
betrays  a  weak,  foolishly  selfish  motive.  The  conscien- 
tious minister,  who  preaches  solely  for  the  sake  of  doing 

I  Shedd's  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Thiology,  p.  223. 


45  S  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

good,  will  always  do  his  best,  and  never  dream  of  failure. 
He  is  above  such  silly  fears.  And  even  though  he  should 
fail,  he  regards  it  as  a  help  rather  than  a  defeat. 

In  the  third  case,  in  which  fear  is  constitutional,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  prescribe  a  remedy,  and  the  unfortunate  preacher 
deserves  pity  rather  than  censure.  But,  all  things  consid- 
ered, there  is  more  hope  of  partially  subduing  this  infirmity 
through  extemporaneous  exercise,  than  by  the  use  of  the 
paper.  As  the  defect  of  a  stammering  tongue  can  never  be 
removed  by  shunning  speech  altogether,  but  by  practice 
upon  the  most  difficult  sounds,  so  protection  from  fear 
will  not  cure  fear  so  soon  as  constant  exposure  to  it.  The 
paper  fosters  one's  timidity,  or  rather  increases  it,  by  culti- 
vating confidence  in  the  paper  rather  than  in  one's  self. 
It  protects  one  from  a  complete  failure,  but  it  does  not 
protect  one  from  the  confusion  and  unnaturalness  which 
are  the  inevitable  results  of  this  abnormal,  innate  fear,  and 
which,  so  far  as  eftect  is  concerned,  are  almost  as  bad  as 
total  failure.  It  is  our  candid  opinion  that  the  reading 
method,  instead  of  being  an  advantage  to  a  nervous 
preacher,  is  rather  a  disadvantage,  and  that  a  change  to 
the  extempore  method  is  the  only  antidote. 

Objection  4.  The  extemporaneous  sermon  is  not  so  available 
for  future  use,  in  an  emergency,  or  for  publication. 

Answer.  For  the  purpose  of  repeating  sermons,  in  most 
cases,  more  time  is  required  in  renewing  preparation  in 
written  discoui'se  than  in  the  extempore  mode.  Unless 
the  written  discourse  has  been  unusually  good,  the  change 
of  circumstances,  congregation,  time,  as  well  as  the  change 
of  our  ideas,  feelings,  etc.,  will  also  necessitate  a  change  in 
the  discourse,  eitlier  in  whole  or  in  part,  which  will  require 
a  remodeling,  rewriting,  and  recommitting  of  the  entire 
sermon,  while  the  extemporaneous  preacher  has  nothing 
to  do  but  to  recast  the  material  in  his  mind;  and  this  kind 


The  Extemporaneous  Method.  459 

of  refreshing  of  our  ideas  is  the  best  preparation  for  a 
second  successful  delivery. 

Besides,  every  preacher  can  and  should  preserve  his  best 
extempore  sermons  for  any  future  emergencies,  or  for  pub- 
lication, should  they  be  demanded.  It  is  not  intended  that 
the  extempore  preacher  should  neglect  writing.  On  the 
contrary,  he  should  write  out  in  full  as  many  sermons  as 
his  time  will  permit.  However,  let  these  be  his  very  best 
ones,  and  let  them  be  written  in  the  very  best  style  possi- 
ble, either  before  or  after  delivery.  John  Angell  James 
preached  without  manuscript,  but  wrote  out  many  of  his 
sermons.  iTewman  Hall  delivered  an  excellent  sermon  in 
Dr.  Cuyler's  church  from  a  "brief"  of  twenty  lines,  and 
three  months  afterward  wrote  out  the  same  discourse  for 
publication.  Some  of  the  greatest  sermons  of  liobert  Hall 
were  never  written  till  after  delivery.  Dr.  John  Hall,  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  the  Halls,  writes  many  of  his 
sermons,  but  speaks  extemporaneously.  Many,  after  fin- 
ishing a  carefully-written  sermon,  unconsciously  remember 
much  of  the  language  used,  so  that,  upon  delivery,  their 
minds  readily  recall  it  without  effort. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  it  will  be  a  good  ex- 
ercise for  the  preacher  to  spend  months  upon  a  single 
sermon,  in  a  masterly  effort  of  composition,  writing,  criti- 
cising, revising,  and  rewriting,  until  it  has  reached  the 
acme  of  his  ability.  Dr.  Emmonds  said,  "  I  have  often 
spent  a  whole  day  in  selecting  the  right  phrase  for  a  good 
thought."  Another  divine,  who  has  been  called  the 
"  prince  of  pulpit  orators,"  spent  a  fortnight  on  a  single 
paragraph  of  one  of  his  published 'sermons,  in  unfolding 
his  thoughts  in  the  most  precise  and  effective  style.  Rob- 
ert Hail,  in  writing  his  sermon  on  "  Modern  Infidelity," 
invigorated  his  mind  by  tasking  it  to  the  utmost.  "  A 
man  does  not  know  himself  unless  he  labors  sometimes  to 


460  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

make  full  proof  of  his  faculties."  ^  Michael  Angelo  de- 
voted sixteen  months  to  the  statue  of  Pope  Julius  11. 
"Why  should  not  the  preacher  sometimes  spend  as  much 
time  in  producing  a  masterpiece  of  composition?  "I 
light  my  candle  at  the  sun,"  was  the  motto  of  a  great  au- 
thor who  kept  himself  familiar  with  Homer's  poems,  while 
preparing  his  works  for  the  press;  and  every  preacher, 
while  writing  his  sermon,  should  light  the  candle  of  his 
intellect  at  some  lofty  ideal  of  perfection.^ 

The  object  of  such  a  rigorous  discipline  in  composition 
is  to  get  all  the  benefit  which  the  best  use  of  the  pen  can 
bestow,  so  as  to  make  its  contributions  not  a  hinderance 
but  a  help  in  the  pulpit.  One  sermon  carefully  written  is 
worth  a  dozen  hurriedly  dashed  off,  at  the  rate  of  one  or 
two  a  week,  under  the  reading  system,  and  will  be  of  more 
practical  service  in  cultivating  a  good  pulpit  style  than 
much  writing  —  however  skillfully  executed  —  without  at 
times  a  thorough  test  of  one's  ability  in  composition.  ISTot 
that  such  extraordinary  sermons  should  be  read  or  recited 
in  the  pulpit  verbatim^  except  in  cases  which  will  soon  be 
mentioned,  but  they  should  be  held  up  as  models  of  imita- 
tion and  inspiration.  They  will  thus  not  only  elevate  our 
standard  of  sermonizing,  but  actually  inspire  us  in  the 
delivery  of  every  other  sermon.  Besides,  they  will  answer 
all  the  purposes  of  a  system  of  weekly  sermon-writing, 
and  will  be  all  the  better  for  future  use  or  publication.^ 

In  examining  the  different  modes  of  delivery,  we  have 
not  separately  and  formally  discussed  the  numerous  merits 
of  the  extempore  method.     They  are  so  evident  and  im- 

1  Edwai'da  A.  Park. 

2  Virgil  wrote  liis  Oeorgics  at  the  rate  of  ooo  line  a  day.  In  writing  his  Reflections  on 
the  French  Revolution,  Edmund  Burke  sometimes  had  more  than  twelve  proofs  worked  off 
and  destroyed  before  he  could  satisfy  himself.  Rousseau  says  that  his  own  blot-s,  emenda- 
tions, and  transcriptions,  before  printing  and  after,  were  numberless. 

3  It  was  the  recommendation  of  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  to  speak  extemporaneously  in 
order  to  write  with  more  vigor;  and  to  write,  so  as  to  speak  extemporaneously  with 
more  precision. 


The  Extemporaneous  Method.  461 

plied  from  what  was  said  in  a  brief  history  of  the  use  of 
the  different  methods  and  a  comparison  of  their  relative 
value,  that  we  are  now  prepared  to  understand  why  the 
popular  as  well  as  the  scholarly  opinion  preponderates  in 
favor  of  extemporaneous  preaching.  We  see  that  all  the 
merits  of  the  reading  and  reciting  methods  can  be  com- 
bined in  the  extemporaneous;  that  the  latter  escapes  all 
the  inconveniences  of  the  former;  that  the  former  can 
never  secure  the  best  advantages  of  the  latter,  but  have 
some  serious  disadvantages,  which  can  not  be  overcome 
except  by  rejecting  the  methods;  that  the  former  are  inno- 
vations, and  by  no  means  an  improvement  but  a  perversion 
of  the  natural  and  primitive  mode  of  extempore  speech; 
and  finally,  that  the  latter,  with  a  few  explainable  excep- 
tions, has  produced  the  most  powerful  pulpit  orators  both 
of  past  and  present  time.  Hence  the  advice,  "Be  a^rmcAer, 
not  a  reader  [or  a  declaimer'\  of  the  gospel."^  "We  insert 
the  word  declaimer  in  the  quotation  to  suit  the  present 
purpose  of  our  application.  His  closing  remarks  on  Deliv- 
ery are:  "Peter  and  Paul  were  preachers;  Knox  and 
Bunyan  were  preachers;  Wesley  and  Whitefield  were 
preachers;  Christmas  Evans  and  John  Elias  were  preach- 
ers;—  may  their  mantle  fall  upon  our  rising  ministry.'* 
This  mode  claims  a  decided  superiority  over  others  in 
some  of  the  most  important  particulars.  It  has  excellen- 
ces attainable  by  the  largest  number  of  preachers.  As 
Ware  says,  "  The  question  is  not  which  mode  is  the  most 
beautiful  as  an  art,  but  which  has  been  and  is  likely  to  be 
most  successful  in  practice."  When  great  interests  are 
involved,  such  as  try  men's  souls,  we  need  to  speak  from 
the  heart,  with  the  most  natural  and  unrestrained  freedom. 
The  attorney,  before  the  jury,  seldom  reads  a  plea  for  the 
life  of  his  client.    The  politician  never  reads  a  speech.   The 

s  Dr.  Jos.  Parker's  Ad  Clerwm,  p.  38. 


462  The  P?'cacher  mid  His  Se7^mon, 

general  who  wishes  to  incite  his  army  to  valor  before 
going  into  battle,  would  not  think  of  reading  his  address. 
Let  not  the  minister  suppose  that  the  cause  he  represents 
IS  inferior  to  that  of  the  lawyer,  the  politician,  or  the 
general. 

§    V.      THE    COMPOSITE   METHOD. 

This  consists  in  a  blending  of  all  the  modes, — sometimes 
writing  a  sermon  partially,  or  entirely,  sometimes  re- 
citing, reading,  or  extemporizing  certain  parts,  such  as 
introduction,  conclusion,  or  some  points  in  the  discussion, 
as  may  best  suit  the  preacher's  convenience.  Some  few 
have  adopted  such  a  style  of  preaching  (among  whom  is 
Dr.  Tholuck,  of  Germany);  but  the  awkward  transition 
from  one  method  to  the  other  renders  this  custom  very 
objectionable.  "  The  whole  train  of  operations  is  different 
in  reading  or  writing  a  discourse,  and  in  pronouncing  it 
extempore.  If  I  may  borrow  a  figure  from  engines,  the 
mind  is  geared  differently.  No  man  goes  from  one  track  to 
the  other  without  a  painful  jog  at  the  'switch.'  *  *  *  *  Jt 
is  not  unlike  trying  to  speak  in  two  languages.  It  requires 
the  practice  of  years  to  dovetail  an  extemporaneous  para- 
graph gracefully  into  a  written  sermon."  ^ 

§   VI.      SOME    PRACTICAL   SUGGESTIONS   AND   ADVICE. 

1.  When  and  how  to  use  the  memoriter  method.  In  rec- 
ommending the  extemporaneous  method  we  do  not  claim 
for  it  exclusive  and  universal  expediency  in  every  variety 
of  circumstances.  There  are  some  occasions  and  subjects, 
and  some  peculiarities  of  intellect  and  temperament,  that 
render  other  methods  of  delivery  permissible,  if  not  pref- 
erable. On  a  literary  occasion,  before  a  body  of  educated 
and  fastidious  hearers  who  expect  and  can  appreciate  an 

X  J.  W.  Alexander's  Thoughts  on  Preaching,  quoted  by  Kidder,  HomiUtics,  p.  316. 


Some  Practical  Suggestions  and  Advice.       463 

able,  artistic  production,  and  where  ample  time  is  allowed 
for  writing  and  memorizing,  a  recited  discourse  is  justifia- 
ble. Besides,  some  seem  to  have  a  call  from  heaven  to 
preach  memoriter.  They  are  endowed  with  such  a  power 
of  memory  that  they  can  speak  more  naturally  in  this 
method  than  in  any  other.  They  have  a  faculty  of  re- 
membering, almost  equal  to  that  of  Cyrus,  Themistocles, 
or  Hortensius.  Such  were  the  memories  of  the  clergymen, 
Bates  and  Warburton,  that  they  could  commit  to  memory 
as  fast  as  they  could  write,  and  with  little  effort.'  Such 
men,  and  others,  who,  like  Robert  Hall,  can,  without  writ- 
ing, verbally  think  out  their  entire  sermon,  and  reproduce 
it  without  any  deviation,  ought  to  preach  memoriter.  In 
such  cases  there  can  be  no  risk  of  failure  or  loss  of  time, 
and  the  memoriter  mode  is  almost  equal  to  the  extempore. 
Some  can  greatly  shorten  the  time  of  committing,  by  con- 
tinued practice.  Thus,  Dr.  Christlieb,  of  Bonn  University, 
says  that  while  it  took  him,  at  first,  four  days  to  commit  a 
sermon  to  memory,  he  soon  reduced  it  to  two  days,  and 
that  now  it  is  only  necessary  for  him  to  read  it  over  twice 
in  order  to  know  it  perfectly. 

But  in  order  to  render  a  recitation  as  free  from  objections 
of  formality  as  possible,  the  discourse  should  be  very  thor- 
oughly committed  to  memory,  so  that  during  delivery  the 
mind  may  be  occupied  with  thoughts  rather  than  with 
words.  Herein  lay  the  success  of  the  French  preachers. 
They  had  their  sermons  so  well  memorized  that  they  could 
throw  their  soul  into  their  speech,  and  feel  intensely  as 
they  went  along.  Hence,  when  Massillon  was  asked  which 
was  the  best  sermon  be  ever  preached,  he  answered,  "  That 
which  I  knew  the  best.' 

I  "  Dr.  Parkhurst  gave  Bishop  Jewell  some  of  the  most  difficult  words  he  could  find. 
Bishop  Hooper  gave  him  forty  Welsh,  Irish,  and  foreign  words,  and  Jewell,  after  read- 
ing them  once  or  twice,  repeated  them  forward  and  backward  with  perfect  accuracy."— 
Eibliotheca  Sacra,  1872. 


464  ^-^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

2.  When  and  how  to  use  the  reading  method.  WTien  a 
discourse  is  to  be  exceedingly  doctriual,  requiring  many 
accurate  statements  of  critical  points  which  would  be 
burdensome  for  an  ordinary  memory  to  retain  in  their 
exactness;  or,  when  it  deals  with  embarrassing  forms  of 
vice  which  require  great  care  and  delicacy  of  language; 
or,  when  it  navigates  a  narrow  channel  of  truth  between 
Scylla  and  Charybdis,  where  every  word  must  be  carefully 
selected  to  avoid  a  false  conception,'  it  is  generally  expedi- 
ent to  write  and  read  the  discourse.  So,  also,  men  who, 
like  the  Catholic  priest,  Semeunais,  are  possessed  of  an 
unusually  emotional  spirit,  which  can  not  be  controlled 
without  a  manuscript,  should  never  fail  to  read.  Before 
audiences  of  principally  professional  men,  or  at  colleges 
and  seminaries,  and  before  various  literary  societies  and 
assemblies,  it  is,  with  good  reason,  customary  to  read, 
rather  than  recite  or  extemporize. 

But  let  all  such  discourses  be  thoroughly  fre-pared^  and 
written  in  the  form  of  extempore  address,  with  the  audience 
constantly  in  the  mind's  eye.  Read  as  nearly  like  speak- 
ing as  possible.  Shun  mannerism  and  monotony.  Read 
slowly  and  deliberately.  Give  proper  variety  of  intonation 
to  the  various  expressions  of  joy,  grief.  Tear,  etc.  Keep 
your  eye  in  advance  of  your  tongue,  repeatedly  raising 
your  eyes  from  the  manuscript  and  looking  at  the  audience 
while  you  complete  a  sentence  or  two.  You  must  actually 
read  one  line  while  uttering  another,  for  you  can  not  give 
the  right  expression  to  the  beginning  of  a  sentence  with- 
out knowing  the  purport  of  what  is  a  little  in  advance. 
In  practice  this  is  not  so  difficult  as  it  appears  in  descrip- 
tion, especially  if  you  thoroughly  familiarize  yourself  with 
your   paper   by  frequent  rehearsals   in   the  study,  before 

X  Cf.  Blaikie. 
9  See  pp.  4&&-160. 


Some  Practical  Sztggestions  and  Advice,       465 

reading  it  in  public.  Assume  an  easy  yet  erect  attitude, 
throwing  back  the  shoulders  so  as  to  give  the  chest  full 
expansion,  and  avoid  dropping  the  head  so  as  to  bring  a 
pressure  upon  the  throat,  where  the  delicate  organs  of  the 
voice  must  act,  thus  causing  inaudible  sounds,  and,  finally, 
a  disease  of  the  larynx.  ISTever  stoop.  If  you  have  imper- 
fect sight,  or  poor  light,  elevate  the  paper  until  it  comes 
within  easy  range.  Avoid  hesitation  and  breaks  in  senten- 
ces. Keep  up  a  flow.  Resolve  never  to  he  dull.  Recall 
what  you  first  felt  when  you  conceived  the  thought.  Feel 
what  you  say;  say  what  you  feel;  and  read  with  the  ear- 
nestness of  Chalmers. 

3.  What  mode  should  be  adopted  by  the  beginner  f  It  is 
very  important  to  a  young  minister  how  he  begins;  for  the 
habits  of  his  early  years  will  cling  to  him  through  life. 
Some,  on  account  of  the  difiiculties  and  perplexities  that 
will  baffle  the  first  extempore  eflbrts  of  the  inexperienced, 
recommend  a  gradual  course  of  learning  to  extemporize — • 
beginning,  perhaps,  by  reading  and  reciting,  then  advanc- 
ing to  the  delivery  of  one  sermon  a  week  without  manu- 
script, and  another  with  manuscript,  until  he  learns  to  lay 
aside  the  paper  altogether.  But  such  a  long  preliminary 
drill  is  utterly  useless  to  one  who  wishes  to  learn  the 
extempore  method.  Why  learn  three  processes  in  order  to 
learn  one,  when  one  is  by  no  means  preparatory  to  the 
other?  After  reading  or  reciting  for  a  number  of  years, 
one  is  no  more  prepared  to  speak  freely  than  he  would 
have  been  at  first, — perhaps  less,  for  he  has  already  formed 
habits  of  sermonizing,  and  delivery,  which  he  must  unlearn 
before  he  can  speak  freely  and  naturally  in  any  other  way. 
If  one  were  intent  on  learning  all  the  methods,  or  wished 
to  practice  the  composite  form,  such  a  device  might  do; 
but  the  Robert  Halls  who  can  do  this  successfully  are  ex- 
ceedingly few.     The  great  majority  of  men  who  desire  to 


466  The  Preadi£r  and  His  Sermon. 

make  their  ministry  the  most  successful  possible,  must 
expect  to  do  it  through  the  extemporaneous  method  of 
preaching.  Let  them  dare  to  begin  right.  We  know  how 
hazardous  are  the  first  attempts;  but  great  attainments  are 
worth  great  risks.  "Victory  crowns  the  brave."  The 
beginner,  however  well  educated,  must  not  expect  to  suc- 
ceed at  first,  but  may  be  sure  to  succeed  at  last;  and 
though  frequently  humbled  by  fiiilures,  courage  and  perse- 
verance will  help  him  to  surmount  all  obstacles  and  finally 
make  him  master  of  the  situation.  "When  Sheridan  failed 
in  his  first  attempt  to  speak  in  Parliament,  and  was  advised 
to  abandon  any  further  efibrts  in  the  House,  he  stoutly  re- 
plied, "Never.  I  am  sure  it  is  in  me;  and  it  shall  come 
out."  '  The  young  minister  who  has  a  high  purpose,  a 
firm  resolve,  and  a  humble  trust  in  God,  will  not  be  afraid 
to  venture  boldly  in  an  extemporaneous  eflbrt. 

Bishop  Simpson,  in  one  of  his  "  Yale  Lectures  on 
Preaching,"  says,  "  If  I  am  asked,  How  and  when  you. 
shall  begin?  I  answer.  The  first  time  you  preach;  and,  if 
praticable,  before  a  small  audience.  There  is,  certainly, 
some  risk,  but  don't  stand  shivering  on  the  bank;  plunge 
in  at  once.  Gilbert  Stuart,  in  answer  to  a  question  as  to 
how  young  artists  are  to  commence  their  subjects,  is  re- 
ported to  have  said,  '  Just  as  puppies  are  taught  to  swim 
—  chuck  them  in.'  " 

After  the  habit  of  extemporaneous  preaching  has  once 
been  acquired,  it  is  no  more  difiicult  to  practice  it  through 

I  Ripley's  Sacred  Rhetoric,  p.  178,  where  also  is  found  the  following  statement:  "  Mr. 
Hall,  while  a  student  at  Bristol,  was  appointed  in  his  turn  to  preach  in  the  vestry  of 
Broadniead  Chapel.  'After  i)roceeding  for  a  short  tune,  much  to  the  gratification  of  his 
auditory,  he  suddenly  paused,  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  exclaimed,  "  Oh  I  I  have 
lost  all  my  ideas,"  and  sat  down,  ins  hands  still  hiding  his  face.  The  failure,  however, 
painful  as  it  was  to  his  tutors  and  humiliating  to  himself,  was  such  as  rather  augmented 
than  diminished  their  persuasion  of  what  he  could  accomplish,  if  once  ho  acquired  self- 
possession,  lie  was  therefore  appointed  to  speak  again  the  ensuing  week.  Tliis  second 
attempt  was  accompanied  by  a  second  failure,  still  more  painful  to  witness,  and  still 
more  grievous  to  bear.' — Dr.  Gregory's  Memoir  of  Robert  Hall,  p.  7." 


Sovte  Practical  Suggestions  and  Advice.       467 

life  than  to  practice  the  reading  and  reciting  methods.  "  If 
the  habit  of  delivering  thought  without  pen  in  hand  were 
taken  up  as  early  in  life,  by  the  educated  clergy,  and  were 
as  uniform  and  fixed,  as  is  the  habit  of  delivering  it  with 
pen  in  hand,  it  would  be  just  as  easy  a  habit." '  Let  the 
preacher,  however,  not  neglect  much  careful  writing  dur- 
ing the  first  five  or  ten  years  of  his  preaching. 

4.  What  should  those  do  who  have  already  accustomed 
■themselves  to  reading  or  reciting  ?  Unless  eminently  success- 
ful in  this  practice  of  preaching,  or  too  old  or  too  nearly 
worn  out  for  much  future  service,  it  will  be  best  for  the 
preacher  to  adopt  the  extempore  practice,  even  in  the 
middle  of  his  life  and  in  the  fullness  of  his  strength.  True, 
the  change  of  modes  may  subject  him  to  a  disadvantage 
for  a  short  time,  for  it  is  almost  like  beginning  the  ministry 
•anew;  but  the  extempore  method  can  be  acquired  now  as 
well  as  at  first,  and  in  the  great  majority  of  such  experi- 
ments will  vastly  increase  usefulness  and  power  in  the  pul- 
pit. Zincke's  example  is  worthy  of  imitation  by  every  one 
who  is  trying  to  break  away  from  the  slavish  dependence 
upon  manuscript. 

Let  the  transition,  however,  be  made  at  once,  and  not 
gradually.  If  the  preacher  makes  one  or  two  attempts  to 
preach  extemporaneously  and  then  again  tries  his  usual 
plan,  he  will  not  be  likely  to  succeed.  "  Remembering  the 
defects  of  these  first  attempts,  and  comparing  them  with 
the  more  finished  discourses  which  he  has  been  in  the  habit 
and  'practice  of  writing,  he  draws  the  hasty  and  unfounded 
inference,  that,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  oral  discourse 
must  be  inferior  to  written  discourse."  ^  The  advantage  of 
a  sudden  change  is,  that  it  saves  the  preacher  much  time 
and  annoyance  occasioned  by  a  slow,  vacillating  process 

I  Shedd's  Hamileiia  and  POitoral  Theology,  pp.  222,  223.  a  Ibid.,  p.  225. 


468  The  Pi'eacher  and  His  Sermon. 

of  change.  If  the  suddenness  be  more  trying,  it  will  be 
more  economical  and  beneficial. 

5.  What  are  the  important  requisites  for  good  extemjjora- 
neous  preaching  ?  The  process  of  learning  to  extemporize 
may  differ  with  different  men,  but  with  most  men  the  fol- 
lowing requisites  will  be  necessary  in  order  to  become 
successful  in  extemporaneous  preaching: 

"  (1.)  That  the  preacher  should  have  an  abundant 
Bupply  of  ideas,  especially  of  religious  and  moral  ideas, 
without  which  all  the  advantages  of  facile  delivery  amount 
to  nothing;  for  a  lack  of  ideas  leads  to  the  bare  repetition 
of  thoughts — to  words,  words,  words. 

"  (2.)  There  is  also  needed  a  rich,  intimate,  and  verbal 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  especially  of  the  New 
Testament  (we  venture  to  say  that  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
Old  Testament  also  gives  a  devotional  flavor  to  the  preach- 
er's imagination  that  hardly  anything  else  can;  it  smells 
as  of  Carmel  and  Lebanon  and  the  gardens  of  spices). 
But  a  familiarity  with,  and  a  facility  in  repeating,  texts, 
analogues,  proofs,  allusions,  figures,  promises,  threatenings, 
proverbs,  precepts,  reasonings,  from  the  Bible,  are  of 
inestimable  aid.  If  the  Bible  be  not  a  perfectly  well- 
known  book  to  the  preacher,  his  improvisations  are  apt 
to  become  mere  moral  declamations  and  philosophical 
platitudes. 

"  (3.)  A  fluent  and  idiomatic  use  of  his  mother  tongue. 
Otherwise  there  will  be  stiflhess  and  mannerism,  hiatuses, 
strained  and  inverted  sentences,  confused  parentheses,  and 
absolute  blunders  in  the  construction  of  sentences,  which 
will  take  away  one  of  the  great  charms  and  powers  of 
extemporaneous  speech  —  its  easy,  natural  flow.  It  is  not 
60  ditiicult  to  commence  a  sentence,  but  the  difficulty  is  to 
end  it.  Unless  with  prompt  and  practiced  speakers,  the 
decisive  word,  the  key-word  of  the  sentence,  which  binds 


Some  Practical  Suggestions  and  Advice.       469 


it  together,  is  wanting,  and  the  sentence  is  naught  but  a 
jumbled  ineffective  mass."^ 

(4.)  A  habit  of  thorough  mental  preparation  for  the 
pulpit.  Nothing  is  so  fatal  to  pulpit  power  as  indifference 
in  the  preparation  of  the  sermon.  Never  trust  to  the 
inspiration  of  the  hour.  Get  full  of  the  subject  beforehand. 
Learn  to  think  rapidly  and  methodically,  and,  if  possible, 
without  interruption  and  without  writing.  Look  a  subject 
through  and  through.  Be  sure  you  have  it,  and  can  hold 
it.  Make  these  your  rules,  and  you  will  not  lack  "some- 
thing to  say  "  in  the  pulpit. 

(5.)  A  lively  religious  affection.  The  man  who  would 
epeak  with  effect  must  maintain  a  strong,  glowing  devo- 
tion. This  is  the  correlative  of  the  fourth  requisite.  The 
fourth  furnishes  the  material;  this  sets  it  on  fire.  The  mind 
may  produce,  perhaps,  hard,  dry  bones  of  logic;  but  the 
feelings  clothe  them  with  flesh  and  animate  them  with 
life,  and  the  two  forces  of  intellect  and  emotion,  acting  in 
unison,  produce  limng  truth.  "The  light  makes  heat,  and 
the  heat  makes  light."  Let  every  minister  carry  with  him 
into  the  pulpit  a  full  head  and  a  warm  heart. 

(6.)  Good  health.  This  has  much  to  do  with  the  buoy- 
ancy of  the  mind  and  heart.  A  torpid  liver,  dyspeptic 
stomach,  or  bilious  disposition  begets  mental  sluggishness 
and  spiritual  dejection,  either  of  which  is  a  barrier  to 
forcible  oratory.  In  addition  to  the  requisites  of  thorough 
preparation  and  religious  fervor,  we  need  also  physical 
energy  and  endurance,  to  impart  to  eloquence  the  neces- 
sary elements  of  strength  and  vitality. 

(7.)  A  patient  and  careful  practice  in  extempore  speak- 
ing. Here,  as  in  everything  else,  "  practice  makes  perfect." 
Let  him  who  would  excel  in  free  speaking,  practice  it 
•■daily,  or  as  often  as  possible,  in  his  study,  taking  up  any 

3  Hoppin's  Uomiletics,  p.  502. 


470  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

subject  that  may  be  suggested  by  his  study  or  reading,  and 
speaking  the  thoughts  in  his  own  language,  several  times- 
in  succession,  trying  to  vary  and  improve  each  repetition, 
and  giving  special  attention  to  correct  and  clear  expression. 

6.  How  to  prepare  for  hmnediate  delivery.  Of  course  it 
is  supposed  that  the  preacher  has  already  selected  a  "  sub- 
ject in  which  he  feels  an  interest  at  the  time,  and  in  which 
he  desires  to  engage  the  interest  of  others;"  that  he  has 
thought  out  the  subject,  and  carefully  arranged  his  thoughts 
in  their  most  natural  order.  The  next  question  is,  how 
to  get  ready  for  delivery.  Let  him  thoroughly  familiarize 
himself  with  his  prepared  material,  by  reviewing  the  "  out- 
line "  and  fixing  in  his  mind  the  train  of  ideas,  together 
with  their  connections,  mutual  relations,  and  importance. 
"  If  needful  to  this  result,  I  would  write  the  plan  of  the 
sermon  over  twenty  times  before  preaching  it;  not  copy- 
ing, merely,  from  one  piece  of  paper  upon  another,  but 
writing  it  out  carefully  and  fully,  each  time  independently, 
till  I  perfectly  knew  it;  till  it  was  fixed  absolutely  in  the 
mind."  ^  Propositions,  divisions,  quotations,  and  defini- 
tions should  be  thoroughly  memorized.  Better,  however, 
read  them  from  books  or  manuscript  than  recite  them  in 
a  bungling  manner,  because  only  half  committed  to  mem- 
ory. These  are  key-notes  in  the  sermon,  and  an  indistinct 
rendering  of  them  will  mar  the  sense  and  destroy  the 
efiect.  2 

As  to  the  manner  of  familiarizing  one's  self  with  hia 
preparation,  Broadus  says,  "  Speaking  it  over  in  his  room 

1  Dr.  Storrs'  Preaching  Without  Notes,  p.  100. 

2  I  remember  that  while  ut  the  seminary,  Dr.  John  Hall,  in  a  lecture  to  the  students, 
gave  us  his  plan  of  preparing  for  the  pulpit,  in  the  following  words:  "  I  put  on  paper  all 
that  I  know  about  my  subject,  in  the  order  in  which  it  ought  to  be  spoken.  I  fix  this 
order  and  the  illustrations  in  my  mind  in  studious  disregard  of  the  language,  except  m 
the  case  of  definitions,  if  there  are  any  depending  on  verbal  exactness.  I  try  to  have  it 
so  that  I  could  talk  it  over,  give  the  end  first,  or  begin  in  the  middle  if  need  be,  and  then  L 
go  to  the  pulpit  and  converse  with  the  people  about  the  matter,  in  a  tone  loud  enough  to- 
be  heard  through  the  house,  if  1  can.    That  is  all.   There  is  no  secret  about  it,  gentlemen." 


Same  Practical  Sztggestions  and  Advice.       471 

or  in  the  forest  is  not  wrong,  and  some  find  it  in  their 
early  preparations  very  useful."  ^ 

Before  delivery  the  preacher's  mind  should  be  calm,  and 
as  free  as  possible  from  over-anxiety  concerning  the  ser- 
mon about  to  be  delivered.  This  condition  may  be  secured 
by  selecting  all  his  hymns,  reading  lessons,  and  other  con- 
comitants to  the  sermon  some  time  before  the  preaching- 
hour,  so  as  not  to  be  compelled  to  select  them  in  the  pulpit, 
where  he  may  be  too  much  hurried  and  distracted  to  find 
suitable  selections,  and  distracting  thoughts  may  unfit  his 
mind  for  the  delivery  of  the  sermon. 

"  The  minister  should  set  himself  resolutely  against 
hearing  anything  that  might  worry  or  agitate  him  as  he 
enters  the  pulpit.  There  are  often  well-meaning  but 
thoughtless  persons,  and  more  frequently  habitual  fault- 
finders, who  will  waylay  him  there  to  tell  him  of  some 
trouble  that  is  brewing  in  the  church,  of  some  members 
who  are  walking  unworthily,  or  of  some  duty  which  is 
calculated  to  perplex.  This  is  simply  cruel;  it  is  torturing 
the  minister  when  there  is  most  need  for  his  mind  to  be 
settled.  *  *  *  *  All  his  ingenuity  should  be  exerted  in 
devising  methods  for  freeing  himself  from  this  sore  an- 
noyance." ^ 

Never  enter  the  pulpit  without  first  praying  for  divine 
assistance,  and  realizing  your  dependence  on  God.'  If  we 
should  not  trust  to  the  inspiration  of  the  hour,  neither 
should  we  trust  alone  to  our  mental  preparation.     He  who 

1  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  443. 

2  Murphy's  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  217. 

3  "  Those  who  have  been  most  successful  in  achieving  the  great  ends  of  preach- 
ino;  have  been  most  faithful  to  this  discipline  of  secret  prayer.  Baxter  used  to  pray  thua 
with  his  Bible  open  before  him,  and  his  finger  on  the  text  of  his  sermon.  Often,  with 
tears  of  impassioned  desire,  would  he  pour  forth  his  supplications  for  the  spiritual  suc- 
cess of  his  day's  work.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  thought  occurred  to  him,  when  thua 
prostrate  before  God,  of  his  popularity  as  a  preacher,  and  of  the  throngs  which  he  knew 
would  crowd  the  church  where  he  was  about  to  preach,  he  broke  out  with  the  exclama- 
tion, '  Not  this,  not  this,  O  Lord  I  but  the  souls  of  this  poor  people  of  Kidderminster.'  " 
—  Phelps'  Theory  of  Preaching,  p  570. 


472  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

leans  upon  his  "own  understanding,"  without  "praying 
always  with  all  prayer "  that  the  "  woi»d  may  be  made 
powerful"  and  that  "utterance"  be  given  him  "to  make 
known  the  mystery  of  the  gospel,"  will  likely  be  disap- 
pointed in  his  public  delivery,  notwithstanding  his  previ- 
ous drill,  and  leave  the  pulpit  without  having  made  any 
spiritual  impression.  Besides,  too  much  study  and  review 
of  the  sermon  may  lessen  our  interest  in  it,  and  make  the 
material  seem  to  us  stale,  or  eflete;  but  by  laying  it  aside 
a  few  hours  before  speaking,  and  holding  uninterrupted 
communion  with  God,  we  will  come  to  the  pulpit  refreshed 
and  quickened,  and  this  spiritual  animation  will  give  a 
new  charm  to  the  driest  material. 

7.  How  to  extemporize  in  the  pulpit.  There  are  two  forms 
of  extemporaneous  delivery.  The  one  consists  in  speaking 
from  brief  notes,  with  "  heads "  and  mnemonic  "  catch- 
words" and  prominent  points  of  the  sermon  distinctly 
marked,  to  be  used  as  an  aid  to  memory  in  case  of  confu- 
sion, while  the  language  to  be  employed  is  left  to  be  sug- 
gested at  the  moment  of  speaking.^  Let  this  skeleton  be 
as  small  as  possible,  written  legibly  in  large  letters,  so  as 
to  be  easily  read  without  stooping,  with  emphatic  words 
underscored,  and  divisions  plainly  marked.  Never  refer 
to  your  notes  unless  you  have  forgotten  something;  but 
keep  your  mind  looking  in  advance,  so  that  by  a  skillful 
glance  of  your  eye  you  may  recover  a  forgotten  point  be- 
fore getting  to  it  in  the  course  of  your  deliver}'-.  Other- 
wise, you  may  come  to  a  halt  while  you  try  to  find  the  lost 
place  on  the  paper. 

The  other,  and  by  far  the  better,  form  of  extempore  de- 
livery is  to  be  entirely  independent  of  notes,  and  to  carry 
no  paper  of  any  kind  into  the  pulpit.     J.  W.  Alexander,  in 

I  F.  W.  Robertson  used  a  small  slip  of  paper  with  a  few  notes  ujion  it,  to  which  ha 
eferred  now  and  then.    Spurgoon  uses  the  same  mode. 


Some  Practical  Suggestions  and  Advice.       473 

his  "  Thoughts  on  Preaching,"  says,  "  If  you  press  me  to 
say  which  is  absolutely  the  best  practice  in  regard  to  notes 
properly  so  called,  that  is,  in  distinction  from  a  complete 
manuscript,  I  unhesitatingly  say,  use  none.  Carry  no  scrap 
of  writing  into  the  pulpit.  Let  your  scheme,  with  all  its 
branches,  be  written  on  your  mental  tablet.  The  practice 
is  invaluable."  To  stand  free  and  open  before  the  people, 
and  watch  their  every  motion  and  impression;  to  be  unin- 
cumbered by  any  papers  or  external  helps;  to  be  able  to  so 
grasp  a  subject  as  to  see  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and 
all  the  intervening  points  singly  or  collectively;  to  have 
all  at  your  tongue's  end,  and  to  speak  as  one  plays  upon  an 
insti'ument,  is  the  crowning  excellence  of  pulpit  attain- 
ments. 

To  leave  our  memoranda  of  prepared  thoughts  at  home, 
and  to  go  to  the  pulpit,  as  it  were,  unarmed,  is  not  so  diffi- 
cult and  dangerous  a  venture  as  it  might,  at  first,  appear. 
If  the  preparation  of  the  sermon,  both  general  and  special, 
has  been  thorough,  and  its  ideas  are  arranged  in  the  most 
natural  order,  it  requires  very  little  extra  time  to  fix  this 
order  in  the  mind  as  securely  as  on  the  paper;  and,  at  any 
rate,  without  this  mental  grip  and  mastery  of  our  subject, 
we  can  not  expect  to  achieve  the  highest  order  of  pulpit 
eloquence;  for  he  speaks  best  who  has  the  best  command 
of  his  ideas.  Our  advice  is:  Have  something  good  to 
say;  arrange  what  you  have  in  the  best  possible  order; 
appropriate  the  matter  to  yourself  by  a  process  of  mental 
digestion  and  assimilation,  until  the  sermon  becomes  a  part 
of  yourself;  then  look  to  God  for  help,  and  you  will  be 
more  sure  of  success  in  the  pulpit  than  by  any  other 
method  alluded  to  in  this  chapter. 

"  In  familiar  conversation  with  such  a  young  brother, 
one  might  add  such  hints  as  the  following,  with  reference 
to  the  actual  preaching.     If  you  forget  what  you  meant 


474  '^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

to  say  next,  do  not  stop.  Kotliing  is  so  awkward  as  a 
dead  pause;  and  the  awkwardness  increases  in  geomet- 
rical ratio  to  the  seconds  of  time.  Say  something,  repeat^ 
recapitulate,  talk  at  random  even, — anything  rather  than 
stop.  Kyou  become  embarrassed  with  a  tangled  sentence,. 
do  not  turn  back,  but  burst  through.  If  you  have  made  a 
mistake  of  grammar,  pronunciation,  or  the  like,  do  not 
stop  to  correct  it,  unless  it  is  serious.^  An  occasional  inad- 
vertence is  readily  pardoned,  if  the  general  style  be  good. 
And  if  you  greatly  blunder  in  style,  forget  half  your  best 
thoughts,  or  utterly  break  down,  it  will  not  kill  you. 
Other  great  men  have  failed.  Remember  young  Robert 
Hall."  2 

If,  after  one  has  familiarized  himself  with  his  sermon,  he 
then  "  can  not  remember  its  various  links,  is  it  probable 
that  his  people  can  follow  and  remember  it,  who  hear  it 
for  the  first  time  ?  "  "  If  the  points  of  his  sermon  are  so 
feebly  connected  that,  after  studying  and  writing,  he  can 
not  recall  them  in  proper  order,  is  the  order  very  material? 
If  he  has  not  interest  enough  in  his  subject  to  remember 
the  message  which  God  sends  through  him,  is  it  likely  to 
interest  the  people?"^ 

Nay,  if  a  man  is  permeated  and  possessed  with  his 
doctrine,  he  needs  no  paper  to  prompt  him,  but  will  speak 
out  boldly  as  a  messenger  sent  from  God  to  rescue  souls 
from  destruction,  and  "put  the  truth  in  such  a  way  that  if 
a  man  were  asleep  it  would  wake  him  up;  and  if  he  were 
dead  it  would  give  him  resurrection  for  the  hour."* 
"  When  the  clergy  shall  dare  to  S'peak  to  the  people,  with 

1  At  one  time  when  Father  Taylor,  of  Boston,  was  preaching  to  his  audience  of  seamen, 
he  lost  himself  in  a  thicket  of  accumulated  chiuses;  he  extricated  himself  by  the  excla- 
mation, "  I  have  lost  track  of  the  nominative  case;  but,  my  brethren,  one  thing  I  know,  1 
am  bound  jw  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

2  Broadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  443 

3  Simpson's  Yale  Lecturer. 

4  H.  W.  iJeecher's  Yale  Lectures. 


Some  Practical  Suggestions  ana  Advice.       475 

extemporaneous  boldness,  out  of  a  full  heart,  full  head, 
and  clear  mind,  we  may  expect,  under  the  Divine  bless- 
ing, to  see  some  of  those  great  movements  which  charac- 
terized the  ages  of  extempore  preaching, — the  age  of  the 
Apostles,  the  age  of  the  Reformers,  the  age  of  John  Knox 
in  Scotland,  the  age  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield  in  England 
and  America."  ^ 

z  Shedd's  Momiletiea  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  244. 


CHAPTER   lY. 

ELOCUTION,  AND  CONDUCT  IN  THE  PULPIT. 

The  Voice— Gesture  —  Conduct  in  the  Pulpit. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  considered  the  modes  of 
delivery;  we  will  now  discuss  the  subject  of  elocution,  or 
delivery  in  action, — the  "  executive  branch  of  homiletics," 
—  a  very  important  topic  for  our  consideration. 

Elocution,  as  understood  in  modern  times,  is  the  art  of 
expressing  thought  by  means  of  speech  and  gesture. 

The  ancients  gave  great  attention  to  oratorical  delivery. 
Demosthenes  made  it  the  first,  second,  and  third  requi- 
site in  oratory;  i.  e.,  he  believed  it  to  be  the  chief  qualifi- 
cation for  eloquence.  Doubtless  these  orators  of  antiquity 
went  too  far  in  this  respect;  but  our  modern  preachers 
often  err  as  much  in  the  opposite  direction,  by  ignoring  its 
importance  and  utterly  neglecting  elocutionary  discipline. 
The  result  of  such  rhetorical  iudifierence  is  dullness  in  the 
pulpit.  "  Dull  as  a  parson,"  "  Stupid  as  a  sermon,"  are 
phrases  suggested  by  our  unpardonably  careless  delivery; 
and  the  well-known  saying  of  Garrick  is  to  the  point,  that 
ministers  "  speak  truth  as  though  it  were  fiction."  Why 
should  preachers  not  study  and  practice  the  best  and  most 
natural  way  of  expressing  their  thoughts?  Why  should 
secular  oratory  be  more  perfect  than  sacred?  The  reverse 
ought  to  be  true,  for  the  subjects  belonging  to  the  pulpit 
deserve  to  be  presented  in  the  most  eft'ectual  manner  possi- 
ble, that  the  truth  may  be  so  declared  as  to  be  real  and 

476 


Elocution^  and  Conduct  in  the  Pulpit.         477 

convincing;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  time  is  coming 
when  everything  like  gospel-hardening  mannerism,  which 
renders  truth  antiquated  and  "  stale,"  will  be  forever  ban- 
ished from  the  pulpit. 

Young  ministers  may  profit  by  putting  themselves  under 
the  instruction  of  a  good  teacher  of  elocution.  A  correct 
training  in  the  art  of  public  speaking,  instead  of  fostering 
an  artificial  or  theatrical  style,  will  do  quite  the  opposite; 
for  good  elocution  is  good  speaking,  prompted  by  the 
nature  and  importance  of  the  subject.^ 

Persons  who  depreciate  oratorical  drill  will  say,  "  Only 
be  natural;"  but,  as  Dr.  Kidder  says,  "their  use  of  the 
term  natural  is  equivocal.  For  man  to  be  natural  in  the 
absolute  sense  is  to  be  a  savage."  Besides,  what  is  natural 
for  one  may  be  unnatural  for  another.  It  is  natural  for 
one  to  speak  rapidly,  for  another  to  speak  slowly;  for  one, 
to  keep  up  the  same  dull,  whining  note  from  beginning  to 
end;  for  another,  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes,  to  intro- 
duce all  the  changes  of  the  vocal  gamut,  from  the  deepest 
barytone  up  to  a  scream.  Kow,  to  such  men  the  advice, 
"  Be  natural,"  would  mean,  "  Be  yourself;  speak  in  the 
way  which  is  most  convenient  and  natural  to  you,  however 
imperfect  your  style  'per  se."^  No;  there  is  a  standard  of 
naturalness,  as  well  as  a  standard  of  right,  to  which  every 
speaker  should  conform;  and  to  'point  out  and  explain  this 
standard  of  naturalness  is  the  province  of  elocution. 

The  rules  of  elocution  are  as  universal  and  unchangeable 
as  the  laws  of  human  nature  itself.  We  are  not  natural 
by  nature, —  indeed,  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  is 

I  It  is  to  "  suit  the  action  to  the  word,  the  word  to  the  action ;  with  this  special  observ- 
ance, that  you  o'erstep  not  the  modesty  of  nature:  for  anything  so  overdone  is  from  the 
purpose  of  playing,  whose  end,  both  at  the  first  and  now,  wus  and  is,  to  hold,  as  'twere, 
the  mirror  up  to  nature;  to  show  virtue  her  own  feature,  scorn  her  own  image,  and  the 
very  age  and  body  of  the  time  his  form  and  pressure." — Advice  to  the  Players,  Shake- 
speare's Hamlet,  Act  IH.,  Scene  ii. 

3  See  chapter  on  Style,  p.  432. 


478  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

to  be  unnatural,  and  it  often  takes  one  a  long  time  to 
**  come  to  himself."  Hence,  it  requires  the  process  of  true 
art  to  get  back  to  true  nature.  "  Nature  is  the  art  of  God, 
and  art  in  its  perfection  reproduces  nature."  Those  who 
despise  rhetorical  art  are  sometimes  the  most  artificial,  and 
least  natural.  In  urging,  therefore,  the  subject  of  elocu- 
tionary drill,  we  only  urge  that  which  tends  to  make  men 
more,  not  less,  natural,  that  what  they  do  express  shall  not 
be  at  variance  with  what  they  intend  to  express.  "  Some 
men,  it  is  true,  of  eminent  abilities,  may  dispense  with 
rules.  They  are  a  law  unto  themselves.  They  instinct- 
ively follow  laws  and  rules  without  knowing  it.  *  *  *  *  It 
is  manifest  from  these  statements  that  rhetorical  discipline 
does  not  consist  so  much  in  a  collection  of  rules  as  in  the 
formation  of  correct  habits,  =i«  *  *  *  from  which  flows 
•easily  and  naturally  correct  and  accurate  expression."* 
These  habits,  when  once  fixed,  become  a  second  nature, 
60  that  we  unconsciously  apply  the  rules  of  rhetoric  and 
elocution. 

Henry  "Ward  Beecher,  one  of  the  most  natural  orators 
in  America,  became  such  through  a  rigid  course  of  elocu- 
tionary drill.  He  says,  "  I  had  from  childhood  a  thickness 
of  speech,  arising  from  a  large  palate,  so  that,  when  a  boy, 
I  used  to  be  laughed  at  for  talking  as  if  I  had  pudding  in 
my  mouth.  When  I  went  to  Amherst,  I  was  fortunate  in 
passing  into  the  hands  of  John  Lovell,  a  teacher  of  elocu- 
tion; and  of  a  better  teacher  for  my  purpose  I  can  not 
conceive.  For  a  period  of  three  years  I  was  drilled  inces- 
santly. His  manner,  however,  he  very  properly  did  not 
communicate  to  me.  It  was  the  skill  of  that  gentleman 
that  he  never  left  a  manner  with  anybody.  He  simply 
gave  his  pupils  the  knowledge  of  what  they  had  in  them- 
selves.     His  system  consisted  in  drill,    or   the   thorough 

I  Townsend's  Sword  and  Qarment. 


Elocution,  and  Co7iduct  in  the  Pulpit.         479 

practice  of  inflexions  by  the  voice,  of  gesture,  posture,  and 
articulation.  Sometimes  I  was  a  whole  hour  practicing 
my  voice  on  a  word  —  like  justice.  I  would  have  to  take  a 
posture,  frequently  at  a  mark  chalked  on  the  floor.  Then 
we  would  go  through  all  the  gestures, —  exercising  each 
movement  of  the  arm  and  throwing  open  the  hand.  All 
gestures,  except  those  of  precision,  go  in  curves,  the  arm 
rising  from  the  side,  coming  to  the  front,  turning  to  the 
left  or  right.  I  was  drilled  as  to  how  far  the  arm  should 
come  forward,  where  it  should  start  from,  how  far  go  back, 
and  under  what  circumstances  these  movements  should  be 
made.  It  was  drill,  drill,  drill,  until  the  motions  almost 
became  a  second  nature.  IlTow,  I  never  know  what  move- 
ments I  shall  make.  My  gestures  are  natural,  because 
this  drill  made  them  natural  to  me.  The  only  method  of 
acquiring  an  efiective  elocution  is  by  practice,  of  not  less 
than  an  hour  a  day,  until  the  student  has  his  voice  and 
himself  thoroughly  subdued  and  trained  to  right  expres- 
fiiou." 

However,  elocution  is  not  eloquence.  It  can  not  create 
eoul-action,  or  kindle  the  sacred  fire  within ;  it  only  teaches 
the  best  method  of  expressing  eloquence.  But  so  important 
is  elocution  in  delivery,  that  a  second-rate  thought  well 
expressed  makes  more  impression  than  a  first-rate  thought 
•poorly  expressed. 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  prevalent  deficiency  in 
elocution  in  the  pulpit,  in  our  day,  is  one  great  hinderance 
to  our  success,  and  often  creates  a  depreciation  of  and  dis- 
respect for  the  ministry  on  the  part  of  the  unconverted 
masses.  By  our  unnatural  delivery  we  impress  the  skep- 
tical that  we  do  not  believe  what  we  say.  One  of  the 
most  distinguished  professors  of  elocution  in  this  country, 
who  was  an  infidel,  said,  "  I  have  been  fourteen  years 
employed  in  teaching  elocution  to  ministers;  and  I  know 


480  The  Preacher  a?id  His  Sermon. 

they  do  not  believe  the  Christian  religion.  The  Bible  may 
be  true.  I  do  not  pretend  to  know  as  to  that;  but  I  know 
these  ministers  do  not  believe  it.  I  can  demonstrate  that 
they  do  not.  The  perfection  of  my  art  is  to  teach  them 
to  speak  naturally  on  this  subject.  I  go  to  their  studies 
and  converse  with  them,  and  they  speak  eloquently.  I 
say  to  them,  'Gentlemen,  if  ^-ou  will  preach  just  as  you 
yourselves  naturally  speak  on  any  other  subject  in  which 
you  are  interested,  you  do  not  need  to  be  taught.  That  is 
just  what  I  am  trying  to  teach  you.  I  hear  you  talk  on 
other  subjects  with  admirable  force  and  eloquence.  I  see 
you  go  into  the  pulpit,  and  you  speak  and  act  as  if  you 
did  not  believe  what  you  are  saying.'  I  have  told  them 
again  and  again  to  talk  in  the  pulpit  as  they  naturally 
talk  to  me.  And  I  can  not  make  them  do  it,  and  so  I  know 
they  do  not  believe  the  Christian  religion." 

§   I,      THE    VOICE. 

The  voice  should  be  cultivated,  for  the  following  reasons: 
(1.)     The  voice  is  the  speaker's  chief  instrument  in  elo- 
cution.    Edward  Payson  said  that  it  was  half  in  the  pulpit 
discourse;  while  Cicero  assigned  it  the  highest  place  in 
delivery. 

(2.)  It  is  capable  of  such  a  variety  of  strains,  expressive 
of  every  emotion  of  the  soul,  that,  when  under  systematic 
control,  its  charm  is  almost  magical.  Such  was  the  power 
of  Bossuet's  voice  that  when  he  pronounced  the  words, 
"  The  princess  is  dying — the  lyrincess  is  dead^'  he  could  no 
longer  proceed  on  account  of  the  sobs  and  groans  of  the 
audience.  When  Massillon,  in  his  funeral  oration  upon 
Louis  XIV.,  raised  his  hands  to  heaven,  and  in  subdued 
tones  said,  "  God  only  is  great,"  the  vast  audience,  breath- 
less and  awe-struck,  started  to  their  feet  as  with  an  impulse, 
and  bowed  reverently  before  the  altar.     WhiteHeld  could 


The   Voice,  48 1 

pronounce  the  word  "  Mesopotamia "  in  sucli  tones  as  to 
melt  to  tears  the  hardest  hearer.  Such  perfect  voices  may 
be  a  constitutional  gift,  depending  much  upon  the  forma- 
tion of  the  chest,  throat,  and  mouth;  but  vocal  culture  can 
do  much  in  strengthening  organic  movements  and  over- 
coming natural  defects.^ 

(3.)  Elocution,  when  moderately  and  judiciously  prac- 
ticed, will  not  only  be  a  benefit  to  the  vocal  powers,  but 
also  to  the  general  health.  It  contributes  to  "  the  vigor 
and  pliancy  of  the  muscles,  to  arterial  circulation,  and  to  a 
healthful  exhilaration  of  the  whole  system.  The  care  and 
training  of  the  vocal  organs,  with  attention  to  those 
hygienic  rules  required  by  the  elocutionist,  tend  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  pulmonary  disease,  which,  in  fatality,  prob- 
ably exceeds  all  others."  ^ 

(4.)  American  climate  and  customs  are  unfavorable  to 
the  development  of  strong  vocal  organs.  Hence,  we  espe- 
cially need  voice-training.  Our  east  winds,  lean  soil,  inde- 
pendence, and  sharp  business  habits,  says  Dr.  Holmes,  are 
not  the  best  things  for  the  larynx.  ISTine  men  out  of  ten 
have  a  hard,  sharp,  metallic  clink  which  reminds  him  of 
the  spring  bell  on  a  tin-man's  door.  It  is  easy  to  discern 
the  difference  of  sound  between  the  English  language  as 
spoken  in  the  United  States  and  as  spoken  in  England.* 

1.     Quality  of  voiced 

Every  voice  has  its  individuality,  or  bell-tone,  which 

1  Demosthenes  overcame  his  natural  defects  of  voice  and  manner  by  practicing  vocal 
gymnastics  by  the  roaring  sea.  Cicero  studied  elocution  for  thirty  years,  and  traveled 
over  all  Asia  to  hoar  models,  and  gain  instruction.  Curran  overcame  the  defects  of  stam- 
mering, and  became  noted  for  clearness  and  perfection  of  articulation.  John  Randolph, 
by  cultivation,  improved  his  creaking  voice  until  it  became  so  musical  that  it  "  haunted 
the  hearer  like  the  spell  of  an  enchantress." 

2  E.  P.  Thwing's  Drill  Book  in  Vocal  Culture  and  Gesture,  pp.  9,  10. 

3  For  linguistic  features  of  our  civilization,  and  climatic  influences,  see  Marsh's  thir- 
teenth lecture  on  the  English  language. 

4  For  our  present  purpose,  we  will  treat  Voice  under  the  two  heads  of  Quality  and 
Volume ;  the  former  referring  to  the  varieties  of  tone,  and  the  latter  to  the  strength  or 
power  of  voice. 

31 


482  The  P)'eacher  aiid  His  Sermofz. 

makes  it  a  bass  voice,  tenor,  or  soprano,  with  intermediate 
variations.  Tlie  middle,  or  tenor  voice,  is  the  most  favora- 
ble for  speaking,  since  it  is  the  most  pleasing  and  enduring, 
commands  the  greatest  variety  of  intonations,  (for,  being 
in  the  middle  of  the  scale,  it  rises  or  sinks  with  greater 
ease,)  and  can  be  projected  to  the  greatest  distance.^ 

Whatever  be  his  natural  key-note  of  speech,  every 
preacher  should  cultivate  compass  of  voice,  by  practicing 
upon  the  vocal  register,  ranging  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest  sounds  possible.  Singing  is  a  profitable  exercise; 
but  the  vocal  exercise  of  examples  in  literature  suited  to 
the  various  tones,  such  as  simple  pure,  orotund,  pectoral, 
guttural,  aspirated,  and  falsetto,  is  better  calculated  to 
develop  a  speaking-voice,  which  difiers  very  much  from 
the  singing-voice.  One  should  carefully  avoid  all  imperfect 
tones,  nasal  tones,  and  all  whines,  or  mincing  tones  of  false 
taste,  arising  from  overstraining  or  wrong  management  of 
the  vocal  organs.  In  most  cases  unnatural  tones  "  are  the 
effect  of  unreality,  the  words  not  coming  from  a  heart 
exercised  at  the  time  in  accordance  with  the  words."' 
Melody,  movement,  and  nearly  all  the  qualities  of  voice, 
can  be  improved  by  conversation  and  audible  reading. 
Prof.  Mcllvaine,  in  his  excellent  work  on  elocution,  thinks 
that  the  best  exercise  is  reading  aloud  dialogues,  in  which 
there  are  frequent  and  rapid  changes  of  voice  and  anima- 
tion represented  in  the  different  interlocutors. 

Yery  important  in  preaching  is  the  sympathetic  tone,  by 
which  we  mean  a  voice  in  harmony  with  the  subject.    Just 


1  Elocution  can  not  obliterate  the  native  characteristics  of  one's  voice,  but  it  can  cor- 
rect and  improve  the  voice  in  its  most  essential  qualities.  "Dr.  Streeter  thus  illustrates 
the  fact  that  '  muscles  possess  the  power  of  retaining  habits  taught  them.'  Select  a 
brick,  for  in.stance.  After  retaining  it  in  the  hand,  lay  it  down,  and  the  hand  for  some 
little  time  retains  the  shape  into  which  it  formed  itself  in  order  to  hold  the  weight.  So 
with  the  muscles  involved  in  si)eech.  As  a  shoe  or  glove  which  has  been  worn  takes  tha 
form  of  the  foot  or  hand,  so  the  vocal  ligaments  gain  in  flexibility  by  use,  and  take  oa 
fixed  habits  according  to  tlie  tension  of  the  parts."— Prof.  Thwing. 

2  Blaikie,  Fur  the  Wurk  of  the  Ministry,  p.  240. 


The   Voice.  483 

as  in  music,  the  impression  will  be  deepest  when  the  tune 
corresponds  with  the  sentiment  of  the  words;  so  a  speaker 
can  best  succeed  in  gaining  the  attention  and  afiection  of 
the  hearer,  and  in  winning  him  to  his  side,  when  his  voice 
naturally  echoes  the  feelings  of  his  heart.  "The  Author 
of  the  human  constitution  has  so  contrived  the  organi- 
zation of  the  corporeal  frame,  in  conjunction  with  the 
sensibility  of  the  soul,  that  certain  notes  of  the  voice  are 
necessarily  associated  with  certain  emotions;"^  and  the 
best  way  to  impart  the  sympathetic  power  to  the  voice  is 
to  express  our  thoughts  and  convictions  freely  and  vividly, 
and  above  all  to  have  fervent  charity  in  the  heart;  for 
nothing  gives  more  sympathy  to  the  voice  than  real 
goodness. 

Among  the  important  qualities  of  a  good  delivery,  dis- 
tinct articulation  is  indispensable;  for  it  is  not  so  much 
loudness  as  clearness  of  enunciation  that  renders  the 
speaker  intelligible  at  the  remotest  corner  of  the  church. 
"  A  man  who  articulates  well  can  make  himself  heard  at 
a  distance  without  vociferation,  even  though  he  lay  little 
stress  upon  the  vowels;  and  this  is  the  method  to  which 
actors  have  recourse  when  they  make  dying  persons  speak 
with  a  subdued  voice;  they  explode  the  consonants  while 
they  retain  the  vowel  sounds."  ^ 

"  Macaulay  says  of  William  Pitt,  '  His  voice,  even  when 
it  sank  to  a  whisper,  was  heard  to  the  remotest  benches  of 
the  House  of  Commons.'  It  has  been  well  said  that  the 
most  noisy  gun  is  not  the  one  which  carries  a  ball  the 
furthest;  the  crack  of  a  rifle  is  anything  but  noisy.  It  is 
not  the  loudness  of  your  voice,  it  is  the  force  which  you 
put?  into  it  that  is  effective.  I  am  certain  that  I  could 
whisper  so  as  to  be  heard  throughout  every  corner  of  our 

X  Russell's  Vocal  Cfultwre,  p.  108. 

•  Dr.  Adolpb  Monod  on  The  Delivery  of  Sermons,  translated  by  J.  W.  Alexander. 


484  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

great  Tabernacle,  and  I  am  equally  certain  that  I  could 
holloa  and  shout  so  that  nobody  could  understand  me. 
*  *  *  *  \\\k.  is  necessary  to  write  with,  but  if  you  upset 
the  ink-bottle  over  the  sheet  of  paper,  you  convey  no 
meaning  thereby.  So  it  is  with  sound;  sound  is  the  ink, 
but  management  is  needed,  not  quantity,  to  produce  an 
intelligible  writing  upon  the  ear.  -'^  *  *  *  A  bell  will  be 
heard  much  farther  off  than  a  drum;  and  verj^  singularly, 
the  more  musical  a  sound  is  the  farther  it  travels.  It  is 
not  the  thumping  of  the  piano  which  is  needed,  but  the 
judicious  sounding  of  the  best  keys."  ^ 

Faults  in  articulation  may  arise  from  physical  defects  in 
the  speaking  apparatus;  but  they  are  usually  the  result  of 
neglect  in  early  training,  timidity,  loss  of  self-possession, 
or  afi'ectation,  each  of  which  may  be  corrected  by  the 
proper  appliances.  Physical  defects  need  surgical  aid. 
Habitual  carelessness  may  be  corrected  by  daily  and  sys- 
tematic practice  upon  phonetic  spelling,  difhcult  combi- 
nations of  words,  and  whispering  exercises.^  He  who  lacks 
self-possession  through  fear  may  acquire  it  by  exercising 
increased  deliberation;^  but  he  who  has  an  affected  pre- 
cision needs,  most  of  all,  common  sense. 

The  English  language  has  many  analogies  of  sounds, 
■which,  if  distinctly  uttered,  are  very  significant  —  such  as 
dash^  harsh,  ring,  the  hiss  of  the  serpent,  the  wash  of  the 
ocean  waves. 

Correct  articulation,  hoAvever,  may  be  carried  too  tar, 
and  become  "faultily  faultless."  Some  give  the  r  a  forc- 
ible trill;  others  sound  the  0  in  Creator,  benefactor,  etc., 
so  distinctly  as  to  give  it  undue  prominence,  and  draw  spe- 
cial attentior  to  the  fact  that  they  know  that  the  word  is 


I  Spurgeon's  Lectures  to  My  Students,  First  Series,  pp.  190, 191. 

a  Whispering  so  as  to  be  heard  at  a  distance  brings  out  a  speaker's  articulating 
powers. 

%  Moody  is  said  to  have  spoken  two  hundred  and  twenty  words  a  minuto. 


The   Voice.  485 

spelled  with  an  0.  Dictionaries  are  not  always  a  guide 
to  effective  pronunciation.  Thus,  and,  in  its  ordinary  use, 
scarcely  sounds  the  d,  but  when  emphatic,  as,  "  Liberty  and 
Union,"  every  letter  is  fully  and  distinctly  sounded.  So 
with  the,  ordinarily  pronounced  (K \  but  when  emphatic 
the  e  is  sounded;  as,  "  he  is  the  man."  To  be  scrupulously 
correct  in  sounding  every  letter  in  combinations  of  words 
in  which  euphony  of  sound  would  be  thus  destroyed,  is 
miserable  pedantry,  turning  the  mind  from  the  thought  to 
the  orthography,  and  drawing  attention  not  to  what  the 
preacher  is  saying,  but  to  the  way  in  which  he  is  saying  it. 

"  Good  emphasis  is  a  great  beauty  in  delivery.  *  *  *  * 
The  severest  argument  may  be  lighted  up  by  a  discrim- 
inating emphasis,  just  as  a  painter,  when  he  has  almost 
finished  his  picture,  puts  in,  here  and  there,  what  he  calls 
the  'lights;'  and  so  nature,  if  one  observes  a  landscape, 
always  distributes  her  lights — not  in  masses,  but  in  points, 
*  *  *  *  There  should  be  a  study  of  emphasis  if  for  no 
other  reason  than  to  avoid  having  too  much  emphasis,  as 
is  the  case  with  some  preachers,  which  makes  a  ranting 
style,  that  wearies  both  hearer  and  speaker."  ^ 

2.     Volume  of  voice. 

The  scope  of  vocal  power  depends  upon  the  capacity  of 
the  lungs,  and  the  command  of  the  vocal  organs.^  White- 
field's  voice  was  heard  across  the  Delaware  River.  Volume 
does  not  consist  in  a  straining  scream  or  wild  vociferation, 
but  in  that  projecting  power  which  carries  the  voice  to  a 
great  distance  without  grating  on  the  ear  with  an  unpleas- 
ant harshness.  The  trained  vocalist  can,  with  the  least 
effort,  range  his  voice  from  the  whisper  of  fear  to  the  shout 

1  Hoppiu's  Homiletics,  pp.  G66,  6G7. 

2  "  The  average  capacity  of  the  lungs  in  the  adult  male  is  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  cubic  inches,  of  which  two  hundred  and  twenty -iive  can  be  forced  at  one  expulsion, 
leaving  one  hundred  and  ten  cubic  inches  still  retained.  *  *  «  *  The  development  of  the 
chest,  when  under  trainmg,  is  marvelous.  The  measure  of  the  chest  of  the  champion 
swimmer  of  the  world  is  forty-flve  inches,  and  fifty  when  inflated." — Thwing, 


486  The  Pi'eacJier  and  His  Sermon. 

of  triumph,  and  from  the  murmur  of  repose  to  the  boldest 
Bwell  of  joy,  without  injury  to  himself  or  weariness  to  his 
hearers.  "By  calling  to  a  friend  on  an  opposite  hill,. 
*  *  *  *  -^e  naturally  develop  this  power;  hut  great  care 
must  he  taken  not  to  substitute  an  alteration  of  pitch  or 
tone."  ^'  ^ '  And  in  actual  preaching  we  should  adjust  the 
volume  of  the  voice  so  as  to  be  heard  by  persons  sitting  in 
the  farthest  pews  of  the  church. 

Volume  of  sound  is  promoted  by  singing,  or  a  judicious 
practice  of  gymnastic  exercises  that  will  enlarge  the  vocal 
capacity.  "  Its  thorough  discipline  must  be  mastered,  from 
the  lightest  whisper  to  the  loudest  shouting;  not  with  a 
view  to  actual  use,  but  for  securing  a  command  over  every 
degree  of  force  and  pliancy.  Even  in  a  few  weeks  a  sten- 
torian power  can  be  imparted  to  a  comparatively  weak 
voice."  ^  The  horseback  riding  and  manual  labor  of  our 
forefathers  who  were  in  charge  of  large  circuits,  served  the 
purpose  of  a  gymnasium;  and  it  would  be  an  advantage 
to  some  of  our  modern  preachers  ofeedentary  habits,  to  prac 
tice,  for  the  sake  of  health  and  voice-culture,  such  exercise* 
as  sawing  and  cutting  wood,  boat-rowing,  base-ball  play- 
ing, etc.  Our  preachers  need  more  physical  application^ 
more  muscle  and  vigor  of  health,  in  order  to  make  their 
voices  ring  in  the  pulpit. 

3.     Some  directions  in  regard  to  voice. 

(1.)  In  the  exercise  of  vocal  gymnastics,  be  guided  by 
the  instructions  of  some  good  teacher  of  elocution;  or,  if 
one  is  not  accessible,  inform  yourself  of  the  anatomy  of 
the  vocal  organs  by  means  of  a  good  manual  of  elocution;* 

1  See  Bioadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  455. 

2  Among  the  Romans,  a  class  of  vocalists  wero  called  vociferarii,  who  developed  power 
and  compass  of  voice  by  loud  speaking.  "Our  street  peddlers,  newsboys,  and  others  who- 
habituate  themselves  to  out-door  vocal  exercises  in  all  kinds  of  weather  with  compara- 
tive impunity,  are  illustrations  of  the  benefit  of  such  training." 

3  Frobisher's  Voice  and  Action,  p.  19. 

4  The  two  great  standard  works  on  elocution  are  Rev.  Gilbert  Austin's  ChirOTWmia,  and 
Dr.  Rush's  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Voice.    Upon  the  latter  is  founded  Prof.  \Vm.  Riis- 


The   Voice.  487 

otherwise  tlie  drill  may  be  injudicious  and  injurious;  for 
every  approved  theory  may  be  abused  when  ignorantly  or 
excessively  applied,  and  thus  become  a  hinderance  rather 
than  a  help  in  actual  experience.  "  Practice  makes  per- 
fect; and  bad  practice  makes  perfectly  bad."  Kever  prac- 
tice elocution  with  a  full  stomach.  A  full  meal  reduces 
the  capacity  of  the  lungs  from  ten  to  twenty  cubic  inches. 
Hence,  says  Monod,  "  The  time  most  favorable  for  these 
exercises  is  an  hour  or  two  after  meal;  the  stomach  ought 
to  be  neither  too  full  nor  too  empty."  For  the  same  rea- 
son one  should  not  eat  immediately  before  preaching. 

(2.)  In  actual  preaching,  speak  with  entire  forgetfulness 
of  all  rules  and  instructions.  The  preparatory  drill  in  our 
former  years  of  training  must  have  been  so  thorough  and 
so  identified  with  our  habits  as  to  become  a  second  nature 
to  us.  "  ~E.o  knowledge  is  really  knowledge,  until  you  can 
use  it  without  knowing  it."  Mr.  Sankey,  the  great  evan- 
gelistic musician,  does  not  think  of  A  and  B  and  C,  or 
sharps  and  flats,  when  he  fills  a  vast  congregation  with  the 
charming  notes  of  his  voice  and  organ.  His  voice  and 
fi.ngers  unconsciously  obey  the  impulse  of  his  will.  No 
one,  while  listening  to  a  skillful  reader,  would  think  of  the 
months  and  years  which  he  spent  in  mastering  the  alpha- 
bet, the  spelling-book,  and  the  school-reader.  The  ac- 
complished penman  writes  as  if  he  had  never  studied  the 
art.  The  soldier  forgets  his  drill  when  in  battle.  So  elo- 
cutionary drill  will  be  utterly  useless  until  its  rules  become 
familiar,  inwrought  into  our  habits  of  speaking,  and 
applied  in  practice  spontaneously  and  without  reflection. 
What  men  call  genius  is  often  the  result  of  patient  and 
persevering  toil.    Demosthenes,  Apelles,  Virgil,  and  Handel, 

sell's  treatise  on  Pulpit  Elocution,  which  stands  without  a  rival  among  books  of  its  class. 
Mellvaine's  ^toCMtion;  Prof.  Thwing's  Drill  Book  in  Vocal  Culture  and  Gesture,  for  Clergy- 
men ;  Russell  and  Murdock's  Vocal  Culture,  and  Shoemaker's  Practical  Elocution,  are  all 
e^ccellent. 


488  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

in  their  respective  arts  of  eloquence,  painting,  poetry,  and 
music,  attained  their  perfection  through  the  most  rigid 
discipline.  The  perfection  of  art  is  not  to  conceal  art,  but 
to  forget  it,  or,  to  convert  art  into  nature.  As  soon  as  a 
preacher  has  so  assimilated  the  rules  of  elocution  that  they 
become  a  part  of  himself,  he  will  be  a  natural  orator; 
otherwise,  he  will  be  an  artificer  or  an  actor. 

(3.)  Maintain  good  health.  Ill  health  will  impair  the 
voice  and  give  it  a  cracked  sound,  similar  to  that  of  a 
broken  bell.  "  One  who  neglects  the  laws  of  health  in  the 
matter  of  dress  and  food,  and  in  the  use  of  drugs,  or 
drinks,  can  not  have  pure  tones.  The  prevalence  of 
catarrhal  difficulties  in  the  north  Atlantic  states  causes 
nasal  sounds.  The  use  of  flatulent  food,  ice-water,  hot 
drinks,  pastry,  confections,  strong  tea,  tobacco,  and  other 
poisons,  spoils  the  voice;  some  of  them  by  direct  action  on 
the  stomach,  causing  eructations,  some  by  induration  of 
the  mucous  membrane,  making  it  leathery,  and  some  by 
ruining  the  teeth,  and  thus  afiecting  articulation.  One 
more  bad  habit  is  that  of  sleeping  with  the  mouth  open. 
This  is  a  source  of  pulmonary  disease.  It  also  helps  to 
give  the  countenance  of  the  person,  when  awake,  the  air  of 
indecision,  if  not  of  idiocy  or  senility.  But  how  may  the 
habit  be  cured?  First,  keep  the  mouth  shut  while  awake, 
and  always  breathe  through  the  nose.  Second,  sleep  on 
either  side,  but  not  on  the  back."  ^ 

We  also  quote  the  excellent  advice  of  Prof.  Mcllvaine 
in  his  "  Elocution":  "  For  the  reason  that  clergymen  are 
compelled  to  speak  twice  or  three  times  on  Sunday,  they 
ought  never  to  leave  the  study  later  than  at  noon  on  Sat- 
urday. The  remainder  of  the  day  should  be  devoted  to 
rest,  and  gentle  exercise  in  the  open  air,  and  the  night  to 
sound  and  refreshing  sleep.     In  like  manner,  the  intervals 

X  Thwing's  Drill  Book  in  Vocal  Culture  and  Gesture,  p.  35. 


Gesture.  489 

between  the  Sunday  services  should  be  devoted  to  rest. 
For  by  such  adequate  refreshment  and  renovation  of  the 
vital  forces,  the  preacher  may  make  the  latter  services  as 
animated  and  interesting  as  the  former." 

§    II.      GESTURE. 

Cicero  calls  gesture  the  language  of  the  body.  This 
silent  sign-language  is  no  less  expressive  than  communica- 
tion through  the  aid  of  articulate  speech,  as  is  observed 
in  the  significant  acts  of  the  pantomime  and  the  mute. 
Thought  can  reveal  itself  through  a  hundred  avenues  of 
the  body  without  the  use  of  the  tongue;  and  "  a  felicitous 
gesture,  even  without  a  word,  has  marvelous  power.  Says 
a  Greek  admirer  of  Csesar,  '  His  right  hand  was  mighty  to 
command,  and  by  its  majestic  power  did  quell  the  fierce 
audacity  of  savage  men.'  The  Eoman  who  pleaded  for 
his  brother's  life  by  lifting  the  stump  of  his  own  arm,  lost 
in  the  country's  service,  did  more  than  verbal  eloquence 
could  do.  We  are  told  that  all  the  influence  of  the  Roman 
tribunes  could  not  persuade  the  people  to  pass  a  vote  of 
condemnation  against  Manlius,  while  he  stood  and  silently 
stretched  out  his  hands  toward  the  Capitol,  which  by  his 
valor  had  been  saved."  ^ 

But  when  gesture  is  combined  with  voice,  the  eflfect  is 
doubly  impressive.  They  engage  the  attention  of  the  eye 
and  ear,  and,  "  as  the  concurrent  testimony  of  two  wit- 
nesses has  not  only  double,  but  many  times  greater  force 
than  that  of  one,  so  when  a  sentiment  is  addressed  to  both 
of  these  senses  at  the  same  time,  it  produces  immeasurably 
greater  effects  upon  the  soul  than  when  it  depends  upon 
either  of  them  alone."  Why  do  people  generally  prefei 
to  sit  where  they  can  have  the  best  view  of  the  speaker": 
Because  it  will  be  an  advantage  to  them  to  see  him  as  well 

I  Thwing's  DriK  Book  in  Vocal  Culture  aiid  Gesture,  p.  82. 


490  The  Preacher  and  His  Seinnon. 

as  to  hear  him,  so  tliat  what  the  ear  can  Dot  distinguish 
the  eye  may  read  in  the  expression  of  the  countenance, 
the  look  of  the  eye,  or  the  motion  of  the  hand  —  these 
natural  interpreters  of  language.  Every  power  of  hody 
should  help  us  to  preach, —  voice,  face,  eyes,  hands,  feet; 
every  available  aid  to  expression  should  be  pressed  into 
service.  There  should  be  ^^vividus  vultus,  vividi  oculi,  vividce 
manus,  denique  omnia  vivida."  ^ 

Gesture  embraces  position,  action,  and  expression  of 
the  countenance. 

1.  Position. 

By  the  posture  which  one  habitually  assumes,  he  uncon- 
sciously indicates  his  moral  character.  "  While  the  reveler 
reels,  and  the  miser  stoops,  and  the  voluptuary  yawns,  the 
true  man  stands  upright  and  downright."  The  preacher, 
then,  will  stand  firm,  but  not  rigid;  erect,  but  not  bent 
backward.  Every  part  of  the  body  should  assume  an  easy,. 
graceful,  yet  manly  position,  so  as  to  aflbrd  full  inhalation 
of  the  lungs:  "the  feet  a  little  apart,  and  at  an  angle  not 
quite  as  broad  as  a  right  angle;  the  wrists  against  the  hip- 
joint;  the  shoulders  square;  the  chest  expanded,  and  the- 
head  erect,  so  that  the  larynx  is  directly  over  the  wind- 
pipe." This  is  the  most  pleasing  and  healthful  position;, 
and  all  faults  which  tend  to  awkwardness,  or  which  inter- 
fere with  the  free  use  of  the  vocal  organs,  should  be  care- 
fully corrected. 

2.  Action. 

The  most  practical  advice  Avith  reference  to  action  is,  to 
observe  the  gestures  of  children  when  they  talk,  and,  note 
how  the  freedom,  grace,  and  naturalness  of  their  motions 
add  to  the  power  of  their  expression.  Some  preachers 
gesticulate   without    intermission   while   speaking,   while 

X  Animafod  coiintc-nnnce,  animated  eyes,  animated  hands,  and,  in  short,  the  whole- 
body  iiiiimated. — I.,utlicr. 


Gesture. 


491 


others  are  reserved  and.  stoical  in  their  action.  These  twa 
extremes  are  exhibited  in  the  French  and  English  pulpits, 
while  the  Americans  seem  to  occupy  an  intermediate  posi- 
tion in  this  respect.  To  a  French  preacher,  action  is  as 
natural  as  to  an  Englishman  it  is  difficult.  Addison,  in 
speaking  of  the  latter,  says,  "  Our  preachers  stand  stock- 
still  in  the  pulpit,  and  will  not  so  much  as  move  a  finger 
to  set  off  the  best  sermons  in  the  world."  We  need  not 
wonder  that  Dean  Swift  called  churches  "  public  dormi- 
tories;" and  Sidney  Smith  referred  to  preachers  as  "holy 
lumps  of  ice,"  and  asked,  "  Is  it  the  rule  of  oratory  to 
handle  the  sublimest  truths  in  the  driest  manner?"  The 
preacher  whose  heart  is  stirred  with  holy  thoughts  will 
instinctively  use  the  instrumental  art  of  gesture  to  help 
him  make  the  truth  impressive.  "Emotion  rather  than 
thought,"  says  Mcllvaine,  "is  the  immediate  cause  of 
gesture." 

For  special  directions  as  to  movements  of  the  body, 
head,  hands,  arms,  feet,  etc.,  we  refer  the  reader  to  Bacon's 
"Manual  of  Gesture,"  which  contains  all  needed  informa- 
tion on  this  subject.  However,  for  such  as  have  not  access 
to  this  manual,  we  will  give  here  a  condensed  methodology 
of  gestures,  together  with  their  generic  signification,  ar- 
ranged from  the  best  sources. 


Gestcbes   Employed.  - 


a.    Initial. 
Position  and  Motion -!    6.    Active — of  the. 


Head. 

Eyes. 

Trunk. 

Hands. 

Arms. 

Feet. 


Parts  op  Gestuke.  - 


■  Preparntion ;  i.  e.,  raising  the  hand  obliquely  to  a  level  with  the  head.. 
Execution;  i.  e.,  the  executing  of  the  gesture. 

Sustentation ;  i.  e.,  the  holding  of  the  gesture. 
Impulse;  i.  e.,  a  slight  repetition  to  clinch  gesture. 
Transition;  i.  e.,  a,  change  from  one  position  to  another. 

■  Return;  i.  e.,  finish. 


492 


The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 


■  Unity. 

Combination. 

Cumulative  Force. 

■  Rhetorical  characteris- 

Climax. 

Gesture 

tics  corresponding  to 

Simplicity. 

Demands: - 

tliought  and  emotion 

Grace— as  opposed  to  awkwardness 

as  expressed    in 
speech: 

Various 
Conditions. 

Propriety. 
Precision. 
Energy. 
Boldness. 

Magnificence. 

General 

Significance 


Position. 


Initial 

Posi- 
tion   OF 
TUB 


r  Head,    "> 
I     Ti-tink,   j 


Erect. 


r  Calmness. 

(_  Sflf-Possession. 


Arms,  Hanging  at  the  side  =■  Dignity. 

Feet.     First,  right  advanced,  left  supporting  the  body,  — 

[  Readiness  of  Action. 


Posi- 
tion  OF 
Action. 


Hands, 


General 


Supine  . 


Prone. 


Vertical.. 


Impartation. 
Receptivity. 
Superposition. 
Repression. 
(  Aversion. 


Special.- 


Arms, 


T'plifted. 


(_  Repulsion. 
Index  =•  Designation. 
Clinched  =  Yeheuieuoc. 
(  Emotion. 
(.  I)i.stress. 
Applied  —  Adoration. 
Folded  =  Sflf-abasement. 
Humility, 
Veneration. 
Elevation. 


Oluspod 


Crossed. 


f  Elevatii 
(_  Wonder 


Lateral  —  E.\pans<ion. 
Parallel  -^  Cijuibiuation. 


Gesture. 


49S 


Head, 


Genekic 

oIGNinCANCE 
OP 

Motion  or  the  • 


Eyes, 


Hands 

and 

Arms, 


Feet, 


Backward  = 


Forward  =  Assent. 

Pride. 

Resentment. 
Shaking  ^  Refusal. 
.  Tossing  =  Scorn. 
Forward  =  Address. 
Around  =  Interest. 

Conception, 
ation. 
r  Shame. 


Upward 


r  Lofty  Cc 
(,  Aspirati 


Downward 


Averted ' 


Primary. 


Ascendins 


Horizontal 


Descendin 


Secondary. 


r  Clianginff . 


Advauein;: 


(  Humility. 
Shrinking. 
Rejection. 

Elevation. 

Sublimity. 

Assertion. 

Generality. 

Emphasis. 

Concession. 

Impersonal. 

Particular. 

Distant. 

Extension. 

Remote, 
letrcgrescloru 
ersonal. 
Particular. 
Rests  Relief,  Variety, 
r  1  ro^ress. 


Oblique ' 


Lateral  ■■ 


={ 

f  Er 
(.  Co 

{ 
{ 


Oblique  Backward 


r  R( 


Front 


(.  Pa 


(_  Incitement. 
Returning  =  Yielding. 
Lateral  =  Large  Variety. 
Starting  =  Great  Surprise. 
Stamping  -=  Violent  Emphasis. 
.  Movement. 


494  '^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

In  a  general  sense,  Bacon  observes  that  "  the  descending 
gestures  belong  to  the  sphere  of  the  Will,  and,  therefore, 
predominate  in  strong  resolve  and  determination,  in  bold 
and  emphatic  assertion,  and  vehement  argumentation. 

"  The  horizontal  lines  belong  more  especially  to  the 
realm  of  Intellect,  and  are  employed  in  general  thought, 
and  in  historical  and  geographical  allusions. 

"  The  ascending  gestures  belong  to  the  Imagination. 
These  are  employed  in  sublimity  and  general  elevatioa — 
physical,  intellectual,  and  moral." 

3.     Some  directions  in  regard  to  gesture. 

(1.)  In  gesturing,  we  must  not  neutralize  or  contradict 
our  words,  by  assuming  a  position  or  executing  a  movement 
that  is  not  in  harmony  with  what  we  say.  It  is  reported 
of  a  certain  minister,  who  was  discoursing  on  the  divine 
mercy,  that,  with  upraised  hand  and  fist  shaken  at  the 
heads  of  his  hearers,  he  quoted  the  passage  beginning, 
"  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,"  etc.,  not  noting  the  ludicrous  contrast  between  the 
sentiment  and  the  gesture.  Naturalness  also  requires  that 
the  gestures  be  not  simultaneous  with,  but  slightly  ante- 
cedent or  introductory  to,  the  verbal  expression,  so  as  to 
prepare  the  hearers  for  what  is  coming.  "  The  first  step 
is  conception  in  the  mind;  the  next,  the  movement  of 
the  eye  toward  the  place;  then  of  the  face;  then  hand; 
next  the  finger  points  it  out;  and  last  of  all  comes  the 
expression  by  words."  It  is  absurd  for  one  to  study  his 
gestures  before  preaching,  or  to  practice  them  before  the 
mirror,  in  order  to  be  natural.  If  by  previou-s  training  he 
has  acquired  the  habit  of  natural  gesticulation,  and  has 
self-possession  and  genuine  earnestness  while  engaged  in 
speaking,  his  bodily  action  will  be  spontaneously  natural 
and  elfective. 

(2.)     Avoid  excess  in  gesture.     While  it  is  the  fault  of 


Gesture.  495 

eome  timid  speakers  to  use  weak  and  irresolute  action,  re- 
sulting in  muscular  stiffness  and  a  sort  of  pump-handle 
movement,  others  greatly  err  in  making  too  many  or  too 
extravagant  gesticulations.  Sawing  the  air  with  the  hands, 
with  fingers  distended  like  the  prongs  of  a  fork,  tossing 
the  head,  and  all  violent  action  without  respite,  are  un- 
sightly, and  wearisome  to  a  congregation.  G-enerally, 
moderation  is  better  than  superfluity  of  action.  Excess  of 
action  is  worse  than  no  action  at  all.  Too  much  gesticu- 
lating, like  too  much  emphasis  in  reading,  will  weaken  its 
own  efl'ect.  To  mimic  every  action  described  is  also  ab- 
surd. ^ 

(3.)  Avoid  monotony.  Professor  Porter  tells  of  one 
preacher  who  had  but  three  gestures;  first  with  the  right 
hand,  then  with  the  left,  and  then  with  both,  l^ext  to 
monotony  of  voice,  nothing  puts  a  congregation  to  sleep 
fiooner  than  continually  repeating  a  gesture  which  marks 
with  exactness  each  part  of  a  period,  as  a  pendulum  beats 
the  time. 

4.     Facial  expression. 

The  expression  of  the  countenance  might  properly  be 
classified  with  gesture  of  action,  but  so  important  in  de- 
livery is  the  language  of  the  face  that  it  deserves  a  separate 
consideration. 

The  face  can  be  made  the  exponent  of  every  thought 
and  feeling;  for  "  the  strongest  passions  bolt  into  the  face." 
The  signs  of  joy  or  sorrow,  of  hope  or  fear,  of  pleasure  or 
pain,  of  storm  or  calm;  the  emotions  which  successively 
agitate  the  human  breast,  and  which  give  life  and  move- 
ment to  the  physiognomy,  and  powerful  emphasis  and 
double  efl'ect  to  words,  can  all  be  photographed  in  the 

I  Broadus  gives  the  following  incident:  "  A  really  good  man,  in  preaching  at  a  univer- 
Bity,  once  said:  'You  shut  your  eyes  to  the  beauty  of  piety;  you  stop  your  ears  to  the 
calls  of  the  gospel ;  you  turn  your  back,' etc.;  and  in  saying  it,  shut  his  eyeo,  stopped 
his  ears  with  his  fingers,  and  whirled  his  broad  back  into  view.  *  *  *  *  In  '  suiting  tha 
action  to  the  word,'  he  '  o'erstepped  the  modesty  of  nature.'  " 


49^  1^^^^  P^'eacher  and  His  Sermon. 

countenance,  and  play  upon  its  features  like  sunshine  and 
shadow.  The  face,  then,  may  be  said  to  be  the  mirror  of 
the  soul,  in  which  are  seen  its  secret  motives,  whether  of  vir- 
tue or  of  vice.  It  is  often  difficult,  when  this  soul-reflector 
is  brought  under  close  examination,  to  conceal  our  real 
character;  for  a  blush,  or  an  elevation  or  depression  of  the 
countenance,  is  often  beyond  our  control,  and  speaks  for 
itself.  Hence  the  significance  of  Shakespeare's  'expression, 
''I  saw  his  heart  in  his  face,"  and  Amaziah's  words  to 
Jehoash,  "  Come,  let  us  look  one  another  in  the  face." 
(II.  Kings  xiv.  8.)  Says  Cicero,  "  IsText  to  the  voice  in 
effectiveness  is  the  countenance,  and  this  is  ruled  over  by 
the  eye."  And  Mcllvaine  observes  that  "  the  expressive 
power  of  the  human  eye  is  so  great  that  it  determines,  in 
a  manner,  the  expression  of  the  whole  countenance.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  disguise  it.  It  is  said  that  gamblers 
rely  more  upon  the  study  of  the  eye,  to  discover  the  state 
of  their  opponents'  game,  than  upon  any  other  means. 
Even  animals  are  susceptible  of  its  power.  The  dog 
watches  the  eyes  of  his  master,  and  discovers  from  them, 
before  a  word  is  spoken,  whether  he  is  to  expect  a  caress, 
or  apprehend  chastisement.  It  is  said  that  the  lion  can 
not  attack  a  man,  so  long  as  the  man  looks  him  steadily  in 
the  eyes." 

According  to  Delsarte's  ^  system,  the  eye  is  capable  of 
seven  hundred  and  twenty-nine  different  expressions.  It 
sparkles  with  interest,  flashes  with  anger,  weeps  with  grief, 
melts  with  pity,  languishes  with  love,  twinkles  with  humor, 
dances  with  joy,  starts  with  amazement,  and  in  a  multi- 
tude of  ways  reflects  the  various  emotions  of  the  sonl.  ^ 

To  avoid  faults  in  the  use  of  the  eye,  the  following  sug 
gcstions  should  be  observed: 

1  A  mftster  of  histrionic  art,  in  Europe. 

2  See  cluiptei-  ou  Modes  of  Delivery,  p.  446. 


Gesture.  497 

(1.)  Do  not  look  above  the  lieads  of  the  audience,  or 
stare  at  vacancy,  as  if  speaking  to  some  imaginary  being 
in  the  air.  In  order  to  make  your  fervor  pierce  the  audi- 
tor's soul  like  a  dart,  and  produce  a  reciprocal  feeling,  you 
must  look  the  people  in  the  face,  not  as  a  mass,  but  indi- 
vidually, "  letting  the  eye  rest  an  instant  on  one  person, 
and  then  running  along,  either  to  right,  or  left,  or  rear- 
ward, to  the  fathermost  hearer." 

(2.)  Do  not  look  at  the  gesticulating  hand.  Sometimes 
in  description,  and  especially  in  apostrophe,  the  eye  and 
the  hand  should  be  directed  to  the  same  object,  but  the  eye 
should  never  be  directed  toward  the  hand. 

(3.)  Do  not  carry  a  sad  face  or  unfriendly  look  into  the 
pulpit,  for  this  would  impress  the  hearers  that  preaching 
must  be  an  irksome  instead  of  a  pleasant  task.  Besides, 
the  eye  exerts  a  contagious  influence,  and  when  weary,  or 
sad,  casts  a  shadow  over  an  audience,  which  should  be 
avoided,  unless  the  nature  of  the  subject  demands  this 
expression. 

A  word  may  be  added  on  the  expressiveness  of  the 
mouthy  "  the  place  where  thoughts  hold  high  debate."  A 
thick  beard,  especially  when  it  covers  the  lips  and  chin, 
may  be  healthful,  but  it  certainly  hides  many  important 
signs  of  thought  and  feeling  that  otherwise  would  be 
prominent  in  the  countenance.  Some  are  afraid  to  open 
the  mouth.  They  repress  both  vocal  and  facial  expression 
by  "  mouthing  it."  Christ's  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  pref- 
aced with  the  remark,  "  He  opened  his  mouth,  and  taught 
them,"  etc.^  Others  writhe  in  a  sort  of  frenzy,  until  they 
actually  foam  at  the  mouth,  casting  forth  a  spume  and 
a  mist,  which  is  more  becoming  to  a  maniac  than  to  a 
preacher.     The  minister  who  tries  to  see  himself  as  others 

X  Luther's  maxim  was,  "  Thittfrisch  a^f,  den  mund  auf,  hoer  bald  auf."    Stand  up  cheer* 
Uy,  open  the  mouth,  leave  off  speedily. 
32 


498  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

see  him,  will  avoid  all  grimaces  that  would  render  him 
ridiculous  before  an  audience. 

§    III.      CONDUCT   IN    THE    PULPIT. 

1.  Earnestness  of  manner.  Earnestness  lies  at  the  foun- 
dation of  good  elocution.  It  will  dictate  matter  and  man- 
ner, give  tone  to  the  voice,  expression  to  the  countenance, 
grace  to  the  gesture;  and  without  it,  it  is  impossible  to 
speak  naturally.  The  rules  of  art  can  not  impart  that 
feeling  which  is  necessary  to  animate  speech  and  throw 
ardor  and  transport  into  word  and  action.  Pectus  est  quod 
disertum  facit}  The  depths  of  the  soul  must  be  moved  by 
some  great  purpose,  that  takes  possession  of  the  man,  and 
instinctively  grasps  the  form  of  language  and  gesture  that 
is  appropriate  to  it.  To  speak  earnestly,  one  must  feel 
earnestly;  or,  as  Prof.  Blaikie  said,  be  "  a  man  of  business 
on  fire."  As  J.  Angell  James  says,  in  his  "  Earnest  Minis- 
try," "  All  men  are  in  earnest  when  they  feel."  ^ 

Earnestness  is  intensity  of  feeling.  A  mother  is  in  ear- 
nest "  when  she  pleads  with  her  wayward  boy.  A  father 
is  in  earnest,  when,  from  his  dying  bed,  he  gives  his  last 
message  to  his  weeping  children;"*  and  a  preacher  is  in 
earnest  when  the  salvation  of  souls  becomes  the  passion 
and  burden  of  his  soul;  when  the  love  of  Christ  constrains 
him  and  drives  him  forward  with  the  force  of  a  torrent; 
when  the  solemn  and  awful  verities  of  life  and  immortality 
become  settled  and  firm  convictions  that  will  not  let  him 
be  at  rest  while  men  are  heedlessly  drifting  to  endless  ruin. 
Pity  for  human  sufl'ering  has  produced  Howards,  Wilber- 

1  It  is  the  heart  that  makes  one  eloquent. 

2  Dr.  Cuyler  said,  "  When  a  youth,  I  once  preached  before  an  eminent  lawyer,  and 
was  foolish  enough  next  day  to  apologize  for  the  force  I  used  in  some  parts  of  my  ser- 
mon. 'I  thank  you  for  that  earnestness,' said  he;  '  It  was  the  best  thing  about  your 
manner.  If  I  had  a  youth  studying  law  with  ine,  who  would  not  exhibit  more  eamestneas 
in  pleading  a  five-dollar  suit  than  most  ministers  do  in  persuading  men  to  accept  of 
eternal  life,  I  would  kick  him  out  of  my  office.'  " 

%  Bishop  Simpson. 


Conduct  i7i  the  Pulpit.  499 

forces,  and  Shaftsburys;  but  the  causes  that  produce  a 
preacher's  earnestness  are  deeper  than  those  of  philan- 
thropy. The  manner  of  earnestness  can  not  be  better 
described  than  was  done  by  David  Garrick,  in  a  letter  to 
his  student,  Dr.  Stonehouse,  in  reply  to  the  question,  How 
ought  a  sermon  to  be  delivered? 

"  My  Dear  Pupil:  —  You  know  how  you  would  feel  and  speak  in 
the  parlor  to  a  dear  friend  who  was  in  imminent  danger  of  his  life,  and 
with  what  energetic  pathos  of  diction  and  countenance  you  would  en- 
force the  observance  of  that  which  you  really  thought  would  be  for  his 
preservation.  You  would  not  think  of  playing  the  orator,  of  studying 
your  emphasis,  cadence,  or  gesture.  You  would  be  yourself;  and  the 
interesting  nature  of  your  subject  impressing  your  heart  would  furnish 
you  with  the  most  natural  tone  of  voice,  the  most  proper  language,  the 
most  engaging  features,  the  most  suitable  and  graceful  gestures.  What 
you  would  be  in  the  parlor,  be  in  the  pulpit;  and  you  will  not  fail  to 
please,  to  affect,  to  profit.  Adieu.  ." 

If  this  excellent  advice  were  heeded  by  ministers,  and 
they  were  as  much  in  earnest  to  save  men's  souls  as  the 
merchant  is  in  saving  his  goods  from  fire  in  a  great  confla- 
gration, they  would  make  their  hearers  feel  in  earnest  too. 
J.  Angell  James,  in  his  admirable  work  on  an  "  Earnest 
Ministry,"  says,  "  That  man  must  be  a  stone,  and  destitute 
of  the  ordinary  feelings  of  humanity,  who  can  see  another 
interested,  active,  zealous  for  his  welfare,  and  he  himself 
remain  inert  and  indifferent.  Even  the  apathetic  and 
indolent  have  sometimes  been  kindled  into  ardor,  and  led 
to  make  efibrts  for  themselves,  by  the  solicitude  which 
others  have  manifested  for  their  welfare.  There  is  a  silent 
and  almost  unperceived  process  of  thought  going  on  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  are  listening  to  the  sermons  of  a 
preacher  really  laboring  for  the  conversion  of  souls  of  this 
kind.  '  Is  he  so  earnest  about  my  salvation,  and  shall  I 
care  nothing  about  the  matter?  Is  my  eternal  happiness 
so  much  in  his  account,  and  shall  it  be  nothing  in  mine? 


500  The  Pi^eacher  and  His  Serjuon. 

I  can  meet  cold  logic  with  counter-arguments;  or  at  any 
rate  I  can  raise  up  difficulties  against  evidence.  I  can 
smile  at  the  artifices  of  rhetoric,  and  be  pleased  with  the 
displays  of  eloquence.  I  can  sit  unmoved  under  sermons 
which  seem  intended  by  the  preacher  to  raise  my  estimate 
of  himself;  but  I  can  not  stand  this  earnestness  about  me. 
The  man  is  evidently  intent  upon  saving  my  soul.  I  feel 
the  grasp  of  his  hand  laying  hold  of  my  arm  as  if  he 
would  pluck  me  out  of  the  fire.  He  has  not  only  made 
me  think,  but  he  has  made  me  feel.  His  earnestness  has 
Bubdued  me.'"' 

It  is  said  of  Ignatius  Loyola,  the  founder  of  the  Jesuits, 
that  he  preached  "  with  Buch  an  unction  and  emotion,  that 
even  those  amongst  his  audience  who  did  not  understand 
the  language  in  which  he  spoke,  were,  nevertheless,  moved 
to  tears  by  the  very  tones  of  his  voice  —  the  earuestnes? 
and  burning  zeal  which  appeared  in  his  every  gesture  and 
look."  2 

In  order  to  be  earnest  a  preacher  must  not  aim  at  ear- 
nestness, but  "  must  aim  at  his  object,  which  is  to  do  some 
spiritual  good  to  his  hearers,  and  which  will  at  once  make 
him  earnest." ' 

2.  Self-possession  in  the  pulpit.  The  loss  of  one's  self- 
possession  in  the  pulpit  is  a  great  embarrassment  to  preach- 
ing. It  renders  the  preacher  unhappy,  and  the  audience 
uncomfortable;  while  the  preacher's  words  will  be  empty 
sounds,  falling  as  dead  weights  from  his  lips.  It  is  a  condi- 
tion calculated  to  make  one  feel  "  cheap."  "  Sometimes  God 
seems  designedly  to  show  us  our  weakness  by  taking  from 

I  "  After  the  death  of  McCheyne,  of  Scotland,  there  was  tound  upon  his  desk  an  un- 
opened note,  from  one  who  had  heard  his  last  sermon,  to  this  eflect:  '  Pardon  a  stranger 
for  addressing  to  you  a  few  lines.  I  heard  you  preach  lat^t  Sabbath  evening,  and  it  pleased 
God  to  bless  that  sermon  to  my  soul.  It  was  not  so  much  what  you  said  as  your  manner 
of  speaking  it  that  struck  me.  I  saw  in  you  a  beauty  of  holiness  I  never  saw  before.'  "— 
Kidder's  HomUeties,  pp.  378,  379. 

a  Potter's  Sacred  Eloquence,  p.  211.  3  Ibid.,  p.  213. 


Conduct  in  the  Pidpit.  501 

us  the  control  of  our  powers,  and  causing  us  to  be  drifted 
along  whither  we  would  not;"^  but,  generally,  confusion 
and  the  loss  of  self-command  result  from  a  man-fearing 
spirit,  in  the  presence  of  an  audience  whose  approval  we  de- 
eire,  or  whose  criticism  we  fear.  The  best  way  of  securing 
tranquillity  and  ease,  is  to  be  so  filled  and  inspired  with  our 
subject  as  to  forget  everything  else  for  the  time  being. 
This  will  make  us  as  deliberate  in  the  presence  of  our 
superiors  as  in  the  presence  of  our  equals  or  inferiors.  A 
glowing  zeal,  a  consciousness  that  we  are  speaking  in 
the  presence  of  God,  the  highest  Majesty  in  heaven  or  on 
earth,  and  that  the  truth  we  proclaim  is  adapted  to  the 
learned  as  well  as  to  the  ignorant,  to  the  high  as  well  as  to 
the  low,  in  whose  welfare  we  are  alike  interested,  will  help 
us  greatly  to  feel  at  home  in  the  presence  of  a  congrega- 
tion, no  matter  how  many  doctors  or  critics  it  may  contain. 
Moreover,  our  hearers  who  are  most  learned  in  theology 
are  generally  our  most  lenient  critics,  and  if  we  show  that 
we  are  in  earnest,  they  will  make  all  due  allowance  for  our 
imperfections;  while  other  distinguished  literati^  who  give 
little  attention  to  scripture,  though  skilled  in  science,  poli- 
tics, art,  or  business,  are,  nevertheless,  poor  judges  of  our 
preaching.  There  is  no  person  whose  face  the  conscien- 
tious preacher  needs  to  fear,  except  the  face  of  God. 

3.  Witticism.  Hazlitt  says,  "  Man  is  the  only  animal 
that  laughs  and  weeps;  for  he  is  the  only  animal  that  is 
struck  with  the  difference  between  what  things  are,  and 
what  they  ought  to  be.  We  weep  at  what  thwarts  or  ex- 
ceeds our  desires  in  serious  matters;  we  laugh  at  wha 
only  disappoints  our  expectations  in  trifles."  Thoughtless 
hearers  would  rather  have  a  speaker  make  them  laugh  or 
weep,  than  cause  them  to  reflect  on  some  great  principle 
of  human  life.     They  would  rather  have  their  human  nat- 

1  Henry  Ware's  Hints  on  Extemporaneotis  Preaching. 


502  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermoiu 

ures  touched  or  tickled,  than  then'  minds  instructed.  A 
minister  is  justified  in  mailing  his  hearers  weep,  especially 
when  he  calls  forth  tears  of  repentance;  but  it  is  unbecom- 
ing to  the  nature  of  a  serious  discourse  to  provoke  mirth 
over  witty  thoughts  or  words.  AVit  may  be  a  good  mental 
recreation,  and  refreshing  after  toil,  but  when  exercised 
in  the  holy  sanctuary,  and  during  solemn  preaching,  is  an 
unpardonable  offense  against  both  piety  and  decorum.  Not 
that  religion  should  put  on  the  veil  of  sadness,  but  that  we 
should  discriminate  between  joyfulness  and  witticism — the 
former,  an  element  of  Christianity;  the  latter,  a  freak  of 
human  nature.  "  Wit  and  judgment  seldom  are  united." 
Hence,  in  proportion  as  wit  prevails  in  the  pulpit,  sound 
judgment  and  good  sense  will  decline. 

4.  Equally  should  the  preacher  shun  a  spirit  of  Umt]^ 
in  the  pulpit.  This  is  a  greater  incongruity  than  witticism; 
for  it  makes  the  minister  appear  actually  irreverent  and 
irreligious  in  the  presence  of  his  audience,  which  expects 
from  him  gravity  and  grace.  Those  given  to  occasional  or 
habitual  lightness  of  character  should  seriously  consider 
the  solemnities  of  their  sacred  ofdce,  the  weight  of  their 
influence,  and  earnestly  pray  to  be  delivered  from  every- 
thing that  would  render  their  public  ministrations  trivial 
and  insincere  in  the  estimation  of  their  hearers. 

5.  Formality  quenches  the  spirit  of  earnestness,  and 
when  it  proceeds  from  the  leader  of  the  congregation  will 
soon  freeze  up  the  spirituality  of  the  hearers.  Coldness, 
and  its  co-partner,  stiffness,  are  unseemly  in  a  minister, 
and  "  suggest  to  an  audience,"  says  Kidder,  "  that  a 
speaker  thinks  more  of  himself  than  of  his  message."  ' 

6.  Affectation  in  every  shape  is  always  repulsive,  but 
when  it  assumes  lofty  airs,  uses  swelling  words,  and  feels 
great  self-importance,  it  becomes  disgusting.     Vanity  and 

I  SomiUtUa,  p.  333. 


Conduct  in  the  Pulpit.  503 

conceit!  let  them  be  forever  driven  from  the  pulpit  as  ene- 
mies to  ministerial  success.  The  grace  of  humility  and 
the  beauty  of  modesty!  let  them  be  set  side  by  side  as 
gems  of  loveliness  in  pulpit  decorum. 

"What!  —  will  a  man  play  tricks,  will  he  indulge 
A  silly  fond  conceit  of  bis  fair  form, 
And  just  proportion,  fashionable  mien, 
And  pretty  face,  in  presence  of  his  God? 
Or  will  he  seek  to  dazzle  me  with  tropes, 
As  with  the  diamond  on  his  lily  hand. 
And  play  bis  brilliant  parts  before  my  eyes, 
When  I  am  hungry  for  the  bread  of  life  ? 
He  mocks  his  Maker,  prostitutes  and  shames 
His  noble  office,  and,  instead  of  truth, 
Displaying  his  own  beauty,  starves  his  flock  I 
Therefore,  avaunt  all  attitude,  and  stare. 
And  start  theatric,  practiced  at  the  glass!  "i 

7.  "  However  offensive  want  of  'propriety  may  he  elsewhere, 
it  is  doubly  so  in  the  house  of  God."  ^  A  preacher's  general 
conduct  in  the  public  congregation  and  the  pulpit  should 
be  a  matter  of  no  small  concern.  From  the  time  he  enters 
the  church  until  he  leaves  it  again,  he  is  under  the  constant 
gaze  and  scrutiny  of  various  kinds  of  observers.  Placed 
thus  conspicuously  in  the  center  of  observation,  his  actions 
often  speak  louder  than  his  words;  and  in  a  short  time  he 
has  left  an  impression  upon  their  minds,  favorable  or  other- 
wise.2  The  following  was  said  of  a  minister;  "  The  man- 
ner in  which  he  comes  in,  and  sits  in  the  pulpit,  and  rises 
to  speak,  is  a  sermon  of  itself.  It  shows  that  he  has  some- 
thing to  say  that  is  important  and  solemn."  * 

A  man's  thoughts  will,  to  a  certain  extent,  control  his 
actions.   A  mind  brimful  of  a  weighty  subject  will  manifest 

1  Cowper,  The  Task,  Book  II. 

2  Arthur's  Tongue  of  Fire,  p.  233. 

3  Many  persons  form  their  opinion  of  a  preacher  the  first  time  they  come  to  hear  him 
preach,  and  from  this  first  impression  they  seldom  change. 

4  Finney's  Revival  Lectures,  p.  202, 


504  The  Preacher  and  His  Serinon. 

itself  in  the  bodily  movement,  giving  a  certain  expression 
to  the  countenance,  and  significance  to  the  general  deport- 
ment. And  if  manner  grows  out  of  matter,  it  also  grows 
out  of  character.  Whatever  a  man  zs,  in  mind  or  in  life, 
will  also  appear  on  the  outward  surface  as  displayed  in  the 
general  carriage.  We  can  not  dissemble  before  the  public 
eye.  All  mannerism  will  be  abortive,  and  the  real  man, 
in  spite  of  himself,  will  appear  in  the  disposition  of  the 
speaker. 

While  every  preacher's  manner  possesses  an  individuality 
of  its  own,  yet  there  are  some  particular  things  that  should 
characterize  every  preacher's  behavior  in  the  public 
congregation.  The  refining  influence  of  education  and 
religion  should  teach  him  to  avoid  all  awkwardness,  care- 
lessness, haughtiness,  coarseness,  egotism,  and  vulgarity, 
and  to  cultivate  calmness,  gracefulness,  ease,  and  the  pro- 
prieties of  the  pulpit.  To  enter  the  church  and  the  pulpit 
hastily,  carelessly,  or  haughtily,  will  expose  him  to  just 
criticism.' 

After  taking  a  position  upon  the  platform,  the  head 
should  be  reverently  bowed  in  silent  prayer.  Some  prefer 
to  kneel.  The  form,  however,  is  not  so  important  as  the 
spirit  of  invocation;  for  this  observance  must  not  be  for 
the  sake  of  an  established  custom,  but  for  the  sake  of 
seeking  "  divine  aid  in  every  act  and  word  belonging  to 
that  sacred  place."  To  gaze  about  over  the  audience,  or 
look  at  every  one  that  comes  in,  is  a  breach  of  religious 
propriety,  and  would  be  a  poor  example  for  his  hearers 
to  follow. 

"  Even  as  the  pulpit  itself  should  be  entered  with  simple 

I  "  It  is  related  of  the  eloquent  and  devoted  Spencer,  of  Liverpool,  tluit  on  one  occa* 
sion  when  about  to  ascend  the  steps  of  his  j)ulpit  ho  so  far  forgot  himsolt'  as  to  spriiiy  up 
two  or  three  steps  at  a  single  bound.  This  circumstance  naturally  excited  remark  and 
centiure  among  his  people,  and  was  a  cause  of  bitter  humiliation  and  regret  to  bioiself." 
Kidder's  M&miUtiet,  p.  878. 


Conduct  in  the  Pulpit.  505 

dignity  and  seriousness,  so  the  opening  services  should  be 
simple,  modest,  serious,  yet  without  dullness  or  gloomy 
gravity.  There  should  be  no  act  or  gesture  that  draws 
the  attention  of  the  audience  to  the  speaker;  but  the 
thought  of  God  and  the  word  of  God  should  be  the  first 
impression."  ^ 

The  text  should  be  read  distinctly  and  deliberately,  giv- 
ing the  book,  chapter,  and  verse  before  the  words  of  the 
text.  If  the  text  is  a  brief  one,  in  order  to  make  sure 
that  everybody  hears  it,  it  might  be  well  to  repeat  it  in  a 
little  louder  tone  of  voice,  looking  the  audience  in  the 
face;  if  a  long  one,  it  might  be  repeated  in  some  way  in 
the  introduction.  In  the  former  case,  after  a  second  an- 
nouncement of  the  text,  a  pause  is  necessary,  to  gain  the 
people's  attention,  and  to  collect  his  own  thoughts  before 
proceeding  to  the  introduction. 

"  When  a  stranger  is  invited  to  preach  for  you,  courtesy 
will  prompt  you  to  conduct  him  to  the  pulpit,  to  ofier  him 
the  hymn-book  and  Bible,  to  introduce  him  in  some  modest 
form  to  your  congregation,  and  thus  make  him  feel  at 
home  with  your  people.  On  the  other  hand,  courtesy 
will  prompt  the  stranger  to  conform  to  your  modes  of 
worship,  to  avoid  attacks  upon  your  doctrines  or  usages, 
although  he  may  not  receive  them  all  as  his  own,  and  to 
present  those  views  of  truth  in  which  you  and  he  may 
fully  harmonize."  ^ 

Show  deference  for  sacred  things.  To  close  the  Bible, 
or  pound  it  with  your  fist,  while  engaged  in  preaching, 
betokens  little  respect  for  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Fixing 
about  your  person,  clothing,  or  hair,  (although  the  attire 
should  be  neither  slovenly  nor  gaudy,)  clearing  the  throat, 
spitting,  or  unnecessary  coughing,  or  blowing  of  the  nose, 

X  Hoppin's  Office  and  Work  of  the  C7ii-istian  Ministry,  p.  117. 
a  Kidder's  Homiletics,  p.  3ii3. 


5o6  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

manipulating  the  handkerchief,  running  the  hands  through 
the  hair,  turning  your  back  to  the  audience  while  stepping 
from  desk  to  chair,  hunting  hymns  or  announcements,  or 
whispering  to  another  minister  in  the  pulpit  while  one  is 
praying,  is  much  out  of  harmony  with  the  solemn  service. 
Some  are  addicted  to  awkwardness  of  posture — such  as 
leaning  against  the  pulpit;  crossing  the  legs  while  standing 
on  one  foot,  with  the  other  resting  on  tip-toe;  resting  one 
hand  in  the  bosom,  or  thrusting  both  into  the  pockets,  or 
behind  the  back,  under  the  skirts  of  the  coat;  supporting 
the  hands  on  the  hips,  clasping  them  across  the  abdomen, 
dangling  them  at  the  side,  or  engaging  in  playing  with 
buttons,  watch-chain,  etc.  Some  have  a  habit  of  swinging 
the  body  to  and  fro,  rotating  in  an  arc  or  semicircle,  with 
one  heel  used  as  a  pivot,  "  or  walking  the  platform  like 
a  tiger  in  his  cage,"  or  stamping  like  a  horse;  while  others 
stand  stock-still,  like  a  post,  without  a  motion  or  gesture. 
Extremes  should  always  be  avoided.  Let  there  be  action 
without  ranting;  exactness  without  formality. 

Preachers  make  a  great  mistake  when,  for  the  sake  of 
improving  the  voice,  they  get  into  the  habit  of  sipping 
water  at  intervals  while  preaching.  Hoarseness  is  often 
the  result  of  the  injudicious  habit  of  using  cold  water  too 
freely  during  the  exercise  of  speaking.  The  normal  con- 
dition of  the  voice  needs  not  the  aid  of  water  or  troches. 
Ko  one  should  create  injurious  necessities  for  himself. 

Announcements  and  notices  should  be  read  at  a  time 
when  they  will  least  interfere  with  the  services,  or  divert 
the  eftect  of  the  sermon.  A  good  time  is  just  before  be- 
ginning to  preach.  The  congregation  should  be  dismissed 
with  proper  solemnity,  and  the  people  should  retire  in 
orderly  manner,  carrying  home  with  them  every  good  im- 
pression received  in  God's  sanctuary. 

As  a  rule,  the  minister  is  responsible  for  the  public  con- 


Conduct  in  the  Pulpit.  507 

duct  of  his  congregation.  Occasionally,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  administer  verbal  reproof;  but  usually,  a  preacher's 
manly  example  in  the  pulpit  is  the  best  reproof  to  disor- 
derly hearers,  and  his  presence  alone  should  be  sufficient 
to  quietly  rule  a  religious  assembly,  and  to  keep  them 
within  the  bounds  of  Christian  propriety. 


Part  IV. 


(jONGOMITANT  to  the  gERMON. 

We  have  now  finished  our  treatment  of  the  sermon. 
Wliat  follows  does  not  properly  belong  to  the  department 
of  homiletics,  but  is  intimately  connected  with  it  as  a  nec- 
essary accompaniment  to  preaching.  In  the  exercise  of 
public  address,  he  who  preaches  has  also  other  duties  to 
perform,  which  belong  to  sacred  rhetoric  rather  than  to 
the  narrow  sphere  of  homiletics;  but  as  these  duties  are 
of  a  rhetorical,  not  pastoral,  nature,  and  demand  for  their 
successful  performance  a  special  preparation  and  skill 
which  are  similar  to,  though  distinct  from,  those  required 
for  preaching,  we  will  append  a  short  discussion  of  such 
concomitant  duties. 

Preaching  is  the  principal  part  of  a  preacher's  work;* 
but  his  official  duties  in  the  conduct  of  public  worship,  and 
in  the  various  Christian  enterprises  which  call  for  his  aid 
in  the  form  of  suitable  addresses,  are  not  unimportant. 
Although  they  are  subordinate  to  the  chief  work,  they 
should  not  therefore  be  neglected  as  if  they  were  no  part 
of  reli2:ious  service.  Minor  duties  need  to  be  executed  as 
faithfully  as  major  ones.  It  would  be  incongruous  for  a 
minister  to  preach  well,  but  pray  poorly;  to  deliver  eloquent 
sermons,  but  to  be  unable  to  interest  a  Sunday-school  or  a 
temperance  meeting  in  a  becoming  speech. 

I  See  Part  I.,  Chap.  I.,  g  II. 

611 


Part  IV. 

CONCOMITANT  TO  THE  SERMON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

DEVOTIONAL  EXERCISES. 
Beading  of  Scripture  —  Hymns  — Public  Prayer  — The  Benediction. 

The  devotional  exercises  here  to  be  considered  consist  of 
the  exercises  of  public  worship  in  the  sanctuary  which 
precede  and  follow  the  sermon,  and  in  which  the  pastor 
leads  the  congregation;  such  as  the  reading  of  hymns  and 
the  scripture-lesson,  and  the  offering  of  prayer. 

In  the  Romish  and  many  Protestant  churches,  the  praises 
to  be  sung,  the  scripture-selections  to  be  read,  and  the 
prayers  to  be  offered  are  all  prescribed  by  formulas,  and 
embodied  in  a  collection  called  "  The  Liturgy;"  but  the 
worship,  no  doubt,  will  be  more  spiritual  and  profitable 
when  such  selections  are  made  by  the  officiating  clergy- 
man, at  the  time  of  preparing  his  sermon.  He  can  then 
adapt  them  to  the  circumstances  and  wants  of  his  people, 
and  to  providential  events  which  occur,  thus  securing  a 
true  response  in  the  hearts  of  the  worshipers  to  whom  he 
ministers.  Besides,  he  himself  can  enter  into  them  with 
greater  devotion  than  when  performed  according  to  a  pre- 
scribed "  form  "  of  worship.  The  use  of  liturgies  tends  to 
cold,  lifeless,  and  formal  worship,  and  is  never  enjoyed  by 

33  513 


514  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

the  soul  as  is  the  free,  spontaneous,  and  spiritual  worship 
of  the  heart.  It  may  satisfy  the  sesthetical  emotions,  but 
can  not  meet  the  wants  of  the  soul.  The  preacher  should, 
in  these  devotional  exercises,  endeavor  to  lead  his  hearers 
into  a  serious  and  genuinely  devotional  State  of  mind.  In 
his  reading,  singing,  and  praying,  he  should  conduct  them 
from  the  letter  to  the  spirit,  engaging  their  hearts  in  the 
true  worship  of  God.  While  he  worships,  he  moves  his 
congregation  to  worship  with  him.  To  say,  "  Let  us  wor- 
ship together,"  is  a  good  way  to  announce  the  opening 
exercises.  While  he  leads,  the  people  follow.  He  gives 
tone  to  the  devotions  by  the  matter  and  manner  of  con- 
ducting them,  and  infuses  into  the  meeting  the  state  of 
his  own  spirituality. 

The  preliminary  services  are  preparatory  to  the  ser- 
mon. They  divert  the  hearers'  thoughts  from  the  secular 
pursuits  and  earthly  cares  that  engaged  them  during  the 
week,  and  bring  the  mind  into  sympathy  with  the  services 
of  the  sanctuary.  They  kindle  the  emotions,  revive  the 
spirits,  and  in  every  way  render  the  hearers  attentive  to 
the  truth  which  is  to  follow.  The  twenty-five  or  thirty 
minutes  spent  in  such  preparatory  devotion,  then,  should 
be  very  interesting  and  highly  edifying  to  all  present  —  an 
attractive  feature  of  the  public  services.  When  the  ser- 
mon so  monopolizes  the  whole  time  and  interest  of  the 
hour  that  the  devotional  exercises  must  be  passed  over 
hurriedly  and  carelessly;  when  preaching  becomes  every- 
thing, and  congregational  worship  little  or  nothing,  the 
Sabbath  service  fails  in  its  object,  and  loses  influence  with 
the  worshipers.  They  want  not  only  to  listen  to  an  inter- 
esting, eloquent  address,  but  also  to  unite  in  sweet  com- 
munion with  each  other  and  with  God. 

The  sermon,  and  its  accompanying  devotions,  when  of 
the  right  order,  will  exert  a  reciprocal  influence.    The  first 


Readmg  of  Scripture.  515 

will  give  depth  and  momentum  to  the  second,  while  the 
second  will  impart  impulse  and  animation  to  the  first. 
The  preacher  who  enters  the  pulpit  with  unavoidable 
coldness  of  heart,  may,  during  the  simple,  earnest  exer- 
cise of  praying,  singing,  or  reading  of  the  word,  receive 
a  glow  of  warm  feeling  that  will  wonderfully  help  him  in 
preaching.  ^ 

§   I.      READING   OE   SCRIPTURE. 

The  reading  of  the  scripture-lesson  is  the  proper  exer- 
cise with  which  to  begin  divine  services.  "  Hear  the  word 
of  the  Lord,"  is  the  signal  for  the  congregation  to  give 
audience  to  the  truth  as  uttered  by  inspired  lips. 

This  part  of  the  introductory  devotions  consists  in  pre- 
ceptive instruction  and  meditation;  and  as  its  thoughts  are 
a  matter  of  selection  and  not  of  original  composition  on 
the  part  of  the  preacher,  we  will  give  some  directions  in 
the  matter  of 

1.     Selecting  a  scripture-lesson. 

The  controlling  principle  is,  to  choose  passages  that  are 
in  harmony  with  the  general  tone  of  the  services, — the 
occasion,  or  the  discourse,  or  both.  The  lesson  need  not 
be  upon  the  same  subject,  but  between  the  two  —  the  les- 
son and  the  kind  of  service  —  there  should  be  such  a  simi- 
larity of  spirit  that  they  can  easily  blend  in  one  general 
impression.  Thus,  a  sermon  on  the  divine  attribute  of 
Love,  or  Goodness,  might  be  introduced  with  a  psalm  of 
thanksgiving;  because  a  discourse  on  such  a  topic  will 
naturally  produce  sentiments  of  praise.     Between  the  text 

I  On  a  visit  to  a  sister  congregation,  on  one  occasion,  I  was  invited  into  the  pulpit,  but 
the  pastor  asked  me  to  excuse  him  from  requesting  me  to  take  any  part  in  conducting  the 
opening  exercises;  for,  said  he,  "  I  am  spiritually  so  cold  this  morning  that  I  need  all  the 
benefit  of  these  devotions  to  warm  me  up  for  preaching."  The  sermon  that  followed 
was  certainly  delivered  with  considerable  unction.  On  every  occasion,  the  minister  who 
is  to  do  the  preaching,  whether  he  himself,  or  another,  conduct  the  introductory  exercises, 
ehould  dismiss  from  his  mind  all  thoughts  and  anxieties  about  his  sermon,  and  enter 
lolly  into  the  spirit  of  the  devotions. 


5i6  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

and  reading-lesson  there  should  be  congeniality,  without 
the  formality  of  topical  unity. 

If  the  scripture-lessou  is  to  aid  in  the  devotional  service, 
we  may  make  good  selections  from  the  Psalms,  which  are 
full  of  matter  suited  to  awaken  devotional  feelings.  "  The 
harp  of  David  was  full-stringed,  and  every  angel  of  joy 
and  of  sorrow  swept  over  the  chords,  as  he  passed."  With 
wonderful  variety  and  tenderness  of  feeling,  they  range 
over  nearly  every  note  in  the  key-board  of  religious  devo- 
tion. Many  parts  of  the  prophecies,  gospels,  epistles,  and 
Revelation  are  well  adapted  to  the  exercise  of  praise,  ado- 
ration, and  contrition.  "Whatever  portion  is  selected,  it 
should  harmonize  with  the  general  efiect  which  the  sermon 
is  intended  to  produce. 

If  the  lesson  is  to  be  didactic,  or  a  counterpart  of  the 
sermon,  having  a  close  topical  relation  to  the  sermon, 
W'hether  doctrinal  or  historical,  we  have  the  whole  range 
of  the  Scriptures  before  us  from  which  to  choose.  The 
portion  selected,  then,  should  be  mainly  pertinent,  but 
not  so  exclusively  so  as  to  omit  from  the  reading  all  imper- 
tinent passages,  unless  they  be  some  of  the  more  indelicate 
ones,  the  public  reading  of  which,  in  the  presence  of  a 
modern  assembly,  would  seem  repulsive. 

The  reading-lesson  may  be  double, —  one  from  the  Old 
Testament  and  another  from  the  New,  upon  mutually  re- 
lated subjects.  Revelation  has  a  dual  structure,  which 
exhibits  a  marked  contrast  or  comparison,  when  viewed 
together  as  the  old  and  new  economy  of  grace.  Some- 
times read  side  by  side  such  passages  as  Job  and  Paul  on 
the  immortality  of  the  soul;  the  Mosaic  and  Christian  the- 
ories of  the  Sabbath;  the  ten  commandments  and  their 
summary  in  the  Christian  law  of  love;  the  imprecatory 
psalms  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount;  and  such  other 
selections  as  exhibit  the  analogy  of  faith  and  the  consist- 


Reading  of  Scripture.  517 

ency  of  the  Spirit  in  the  Old  and  Kew  Testaments.  A 
scripture-lesson  bearing  upon  the  subject  of  the  sermon 
should  present  the  scriptural  ground  of  the  leading  argu- 
ments and  appeals  which  are  to  follow  in  the  discussion. 

The  lesson  need  not  begin  and  end  with  a  chapter,  but 
with  a  subject,  or  section;  and  in  this  respect  the  Revised 
Version  of  the  Bible  will  be  helpful. 

2.     The  art  of  reading  the  scripture-lesson. 

In  or  out  of  the  pulpit,  good  reading  of  the  Bible  is  a 
rare  thing;  and  even  good  readers  are  often  most  deficient 
in  the  reading  of  this  greatest  of  all  books.  But  he  who 
attempts  to  read  the  sacred  word  for  the  benefit  of  a 
worshiping  congregation,  should  make  the  reading  of 
scripture  a  special  study,  and  seek  earnestly  to  do  it  well. 

The  preacher's  manner  in  the  act  of  reading  should  be 
grave,  earnest,  and  of  such  a  character  as  to  inspire  rev-er- 
€nce  for  the  Scriptures.  His  conviction  of  the  truth,  mani- 
festing itself  in  look  and  voice,  ought  to  impress  the  hearer 
that  the  words  spoken  are  not  the  words  of  man,  but  of 
God,  and  that  the  reader  fully  feels  and  believes  what  he 
reads.  Upon  the  opening  of  the  Sacred  Volume  we  may 
sometimes  ofier  a  short  invocation,  asking  God  to  aid  us 
in  the  reading  and  understanding  of  the  word;  which  act 
will  help  to  prepare  an  audience  for  attentive  and  retentive 
hearing.  It  is  said  that  Summerfield's  manner  of  laying 
his  hand  upon  the  Bible  increased  the  observer's  reverence 
for  the  Inspired  Volume.  A  proper  feeling  toward  it  will 
help  us  to  read  it  properly. 

The  manner  of  reading  will  vary  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  subject  and  the  style  of  composition;  and  such  is 
the  diversity  of  scripture-writings  that  they  require  nearly 
every  variety  of  the  reading  art.  Didactic  portions  will 
require  deliberation  and  dignity.  Dramatic  selections 
should   be   read   dramatically.     We   would  not  read  the 


5i8  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

parable  of  the  prodigal  son  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
first  chapter  of  Genesis.  Poetical  portions  are  the  most 
difficult  to  render;  for,  unless  the  reader  catches  and  feels 
all  the  hidden  springs  of  emotion  that  lie  beneath  the 
writer's  utterances,  he  can  not  do  justice  to  their  mean- 
ing. The  psalmist  often  gives  evidence  of  the  loftiest 
conceptions  of  grief,  praise,  or  exultation,  which  lie  hidden 
in  the  concrete  forms  of  the  original,  and  which  nothing 
but  a  rigid  exegesis  and  pious  appreciation  of  the  author's 
feelings  can  evolve.  If  these  inspired  poets  could  some- 
times hear  how  miserably  their  sentiments  are  often  read, 
they  might  feel  grieved  at  the  apathy  of  man.  Many  por- 
tions of  the  gospels  exhibit  a  variety  of  readings;  especially 
the  first  chapter  of  St.  John.  "  A  man  who  can  read 
properly  the  first  chapter  of  John's  Gospel,  can  read  prop- 
erly anything  in  the  Bible.  The  first  verse  is  crucial.  I 
confess  to  have  spent  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  striving 
to  learn  to  read  it,  but  I  am  not  now  so  confident  of  my 
reading  as  to  insist  upon  it.  But  this  verse  is  a  good 
verse  for  practice."  ^ 

As  to  ion£,  of  voice,  let  it  be  reverential,  distinguished 
from  that  hasty,  careless  strain  in  which  other  books  are 
read;  but  let  it  be  free  from  the  formality  of  a  "  churchly '* 
tone,  which  becomes  uniform,  habitual,  and  efl'ete.  The 
frequent  repetition  of  the  same  well-known  passages  is  apt 
to  generate  formalism.  The  minister  reads  them  so  fre- 
quently that  a  tendency  to  mechanical  utterance  becomes 
natural;  and  hence  the  mannerism  of  which  he  is  uncon- 
scious. The  reading  of  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  First 
Corinthians  in  the  sonorous,  sepulchral  tones  which  are 
heard  so  often  at  funerals,  is  out  of  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  the  subject,  which  is  full  of  consolation,  adapted 
to  such  occasions,  and  which  culminates  in  a  burst  of  tri- 

X  Chas.  F.  Deems,  LL.  L>. 


Reading  of  Scripture,  5 1 9 

nmphant  joy.  Of  course,  there  should  he  nothing  boister- 
ous, but  a  subdued  tone  —  the  devotional  intonation  of  the 
orotund,  without  the  sad,  proverbial  strain  that  formerly 
distinguished  the  conventicle.^  The  only  remedy  against 
a  drawling,  whining,  groaning  habit  of  reading  is  a  lively 
appreciation  of  what  one  reads,  and  a  constant  watchful- 
ness of  manner  of  expression.  Nature  abhors  monotony. 
Let  there  be  a  free  variety,  flexibility,  and  modulation  in 
scripture-reading. 

The  'pronunciation  should  be  natural,  that  is,  according 
to  the  adopted  vernacular,  without  attempting  to  add  a 
eacredness  to  certain  words  by  a  pedantic  manner  of  utter- 
ance. It  would  be  affectation  to  pronounce  the  name 
God  as  if  it  were  spelled  G-a-u-d.  A  pernicious  practice, 
acquired  from  the  Irish  pulpit,  is  that  of  dividing  "  Lord  " 
into  two  syllables;  as  in  the  passage,  "  The  earth  is  the 
Law-words,  and  the  fullness  thereof."  The  pronouncing 
of  the  termination  ed  as  if  it  were  a  separate  syllable,  as, 
"  He  pray-ec^  unto  the  Lord,"  "  It  displeas-ec?  Jehovah," 
is  a  grave  error  often  committed  in  the  pulpit.  Proper 
names  should  be  pronounced  "  correctly,  and  yet  without 
pedantry." 

But  in  the  public  reading  of  the  Scriptures  nothing  is 
more  important  than  emphasis.  Some  one  has  said,  "  Em- 
phasis is  exposition."  It  certainly  has  exegetical  value  in 
helping  to  make  plain  the  sense.  Ezra  and  his  companions, 
on  the  return  from  captivity,  "  read  in  the  book  of  the 
law  of  God  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense,  and  caused  them 
to  understand  the  reading."  This  was  not  only  a  translat- 
ing of  the  pure  Hebrew  into  Chaldee,  the  vernacular  of 
the  exile  in  Babylon,  but  a  distinct  verbal  rendering  that, 
by  the  use  of  comment  and  emphasis,  gave  them  the  sense 
of  the  reading.     A  correct  exegesis  is  necessary  to  correct 

X  On  the  sympathetic  tone,  see  page  482. 


520  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

emphasis;  for  how  can  we  give  the  sense  of  that  which  we 
have  not  previously  understood  by  careful  examination. 
For  example,  the  fifty-first  verse  of  the  fifteenth  chapter 
of  First  Corinthiaus  is  often  read,  "  "We  shall  not  all  sleep, 
but  we  shall  all  be  changed."  This  is  the  reading  sug- 
gested by  the  English  version,  conveying  the  idea  that 
some  shall  sleep,  and  others  shall  not  sleep,  but  that  all, 
both  those  who  sleep  and  those  who  do  not,  shall  be 
changed.  But  a  close  inspection  of  the  original  shows 
this  a  faulty  rendering.  The  proper  interpretation  is  that 
"  all  we  "  shall  not  sleejp^  but  "  all  we "  shall  he  changed. 
The  denial  and  afiirmation  relate  to  the  same  class,  and  not 
to  two.  So  the  fifty-third  verse  is  usually  read,  "  For  this 
mortal  must  put  on  immortality"  But  the  idea  to  be  ex- 
pressed in  this  verse  is  not  what  shall  succeed  this  mortal, 
but  the  absolute  necessity  and  inevitable  certainty  of  a 
change  in  the  resurrection,  which  is  conveyed  by  the  word 
""must,"  and  the  passage  should  therefore  be  read,  "  For  this 
corruptible  must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must 
put  on  immortality."  So,  also,  the  passage  in  Mark  xiv. 
13,  "  There  shall  meet  you  a  man  bearing  a  pitcher  of 
water,"  should  have  the  emphasis  on  "  man,"  because  it 
was  the  custom  of  women,  and  not  men,  to  bear  burdens.^ 
"  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle?"  as  if  to  say,  Why 
not  go  elsewhere?  or,  "  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day 
idle?"  as  if  to  say.  Ye  might  as  well  sit.  How  difterent 
these  interpretations  from  the  correct  one,  "  Why  stand  ye 
here  all  the  day  idle  ^  " 

Carelessness  in  the  matter  of  emphasis  not  only  misin- 
terprets, but  sometimes  renders  the  reader  extremely  ridic- 
ulous; as  in  the  familiar  story  of  an  Irish  clergyman  who, 
in  reading  I.  Kings  xiii.  27,  had  it  thus,  "  And  he  spake 

I  "  So  singular  would  be  the  si^^ht  of  a  man  thus  engaged  that  our  Savior  gives  it  as  a 
sign,  as  though,  in  all  the  throng,  not  more  than  a  single  instance  of  the  kind  veould  00- 
eur."— Dr.  Burt,  in  The  Land  and  lis  Story. 


Reading  of  Scripture.  521 

to  His  sons,  saying,  Saddle  me  the  ass.  And  they  sad- 
dled Am." 

In  announcing  the  reading-lesson,  care  should  be  exer- 
cised in  the  proper  distribution  of  the  emphasis.  Instead 
of  saying,  "  Let  us  read  from  the  second  chapter  of  the  first 
EPISTLE  of  John,  BEGINNING  at  the  tenth  verse,"  in  which 
none  but  the  unimportant  words  are  marked,  the  proper 
way  is  to  make  emphatic  the  words  "second,"  "first," 
"  John,"  and  "  tenth." 

"  Manifestly,  character  is  a  fundamental  factor  in  vocal 
interpretation.  The  Bible,  above  all  other  books,  must  be 
read  from  within.  It  has  heights  and  depths  untraversed 
even  by  angelic  natures.  The  professed  elocutionist  can 
not  teach  us  how  to  bridge  the  chasm  between  the  seventh 
and  the  eighth  chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  *  *  * 
Conviction  of  sin,  followed  by  a  surrender  of  the  will,  and 
the  inevitable  insight  of  faith,  joy,  and  love,  raised  to  high 
degrees  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  these  are  essential  conditions  of 
the  just  rendering  of  these  marvelous  chapters.  Without 
these,  all  mere  drill  and  vocal  gymnastics  must  result  in 
conspicuous  failure.  "With  these,  however,  proper  training 
of  the  voice  nobly  facilitates  the  expression  of  inspired 
thought.  "We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  in  the  highest 
vocal  expression,  the  culture  of  the  voice  and  the  culture 
of  the  heart  must  each  receive  conscientious  attention." ' 

Sometimes  it  will  be  profitable  to  accompany  the  reading 
with  explanatory  remarks,  provided  they  be  premeditated, 
brief,  and  pointed;  but  better  not  comment  at  all  than  do 
it  in  a  way  that  will  interrupt  the  movement  of  thought, 
when  it  should  rather  accelerate  it. 

Responsive  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  in  which  the  audi- 
ence participate,  is  adopted  by  some  pastors,  and  in  some 
places  and  circumstances  is  successful. 

X  Dr.  Geo.  M.  Stone,  in  HomUeiic  Monthly,  April,  1881. 


522  The  Preacher  a7id  His  Sermon. 

3.     Preparation  of  the  reading -lesson. 

The  lesson  should  always  be  selected  before  entering  the 
pulpit.  It  is  humiliating  to  a  preacher,  in  the  presence  of 
his  congregation,  to  show  his  neglect  of  preparation  by 
busying  himself  in  hunting  through  the  Bible  for  some- 
thing to  read;  and,  perhaps,  after  a  fruitless  search,  and  the 
arrival  of  the  hour  for  services  to  begin,  he  reads  an  ill- 
adapted  selection.  Besides,  such  engagements  in  the  pulpit 
are  out  of  harmony  with  a  true  spirit  of  devotion,  and 
deprive  the  minister  of  its  benefits;  for  the  few  minutes 
during  which  he  sits  in  the  pulpit  before  beginning  divine 
services  should  be  devoted  to  silent  meditation,  instead  of 
being  spent  in  doing  work  which  should  have  been  done 
in  the  study. 

But  a  reading-lesson  requires  preparatory  study.  Says 
Dr.  J.  Parker,  of  London,  "  I  doubt  whether  it  is  not  pro- 
fane to  read  in  a  pulpit  a  chapter  to  which  no  attention 
has  been  paid  in  private."  How  can  we,  in  the  best  possi- 
ble manner,  perform  our  duty  in  this  part  of  the  services? 
Surely,  not  by  the  mere  pronouncing  of  words  in  a  careless, 
unmeaning  manner,  performed  more  for  the  sake  of  custom 
than  for  benefit.  On  the  stage,  men  deliver  passages  of 
Shakespeare  over  which  they  have  spent  months  of  careful 
study.  Is  the  reading  of  Moses  or  Paul  or  Christ  of  less 
importance  than  that  of  Shakespeare?  A  true  reading 
of  God's  word  requires  an  intellectual  and  sympathetic 
conception  of  the  author's  meaning,  and  a  rendering  of 
it  that  will  convey  fully  and  impressively  the  author's 
thoughts  to  the  hearer.  If  the  preacher  would  read  with 
the  understanding  and  with  the  spirit,  let  him  study  the 
lesson  carefully, —  if  possible,  in  the  original, —  and  with 
prayer,  which  will  help  him  to  the  intellectual  conception: 
and  spiritual  significance  of  the  passage.  One  should  at 
least  carefully  read  over  in  private  the  scripture  to  be  read 
in  public. 


Hymns.  523 

§    n.       HYMNS. 

Music  is  a  powerful  means  of  expression  and  impression. 
It  penetrates  the  very  depths  of  the  soul,  seeks  out  the 
tenderest  emotions  and  sentiments,  and  is  able  to  arouse 
or  subdue,  to  brighten  or  extinguish  them.  How  wonder- 
ful is  its  influence  over  all  sentient  beings!  The  fabled 
Orpheus  tamed  wild  beasts  with  the  bewitching  tones  of 
his  voice.  Bees  that  have  escaped  from  the  hive  have 
been  lured  back  to  their  homes  by  the  sound  of  cymbals 
and  the  jingle  of  bells.  The  horse,  excited  by  martial 
music,  plunges  furiously  into  the  midst  of  the  fray  and  the 
thickest  of  the  fight.  Dogs  often  utter  woful  cries  at  the 
sound  of  military  music. 

If  music  can  thus  move  brute-feelings,  how  much  greater 
its  power  over  human  spirits!  It  kept  Dr.  Kane  from 
despair,  and^  his  men  from  mutiny,  while  in  the  arctic 
regions.  Especially  does  it  affect  the  morals  of  men,  draw- 
ing them  from  wild  passions,  and  calling  out  the  "  better 
angel  of  their  nature."  It  has  brought  tears  from  the  eyes 
of  the  drunkard  and  helped  him  to  abandon  the  cup.  It 
has  delivered  many  a  poor  Saul  from  his  "evil  spirit,'* 
and,  even  more  than  David's  harp  could  do  for  the  proud 
king,  lifted  him  into  a  life  of  holiness  before  the  Lord. 

If  such  be  the  power  of  music,  we  would  naturally  ex- 
pect its  influence  to  be  employed  in  the  exercise  of  religious 
worship.  Sacred  music  is  the  appropriate  language  of  de- 
votion; for  the  fervent  spirit  of  adoration  instinctively  seeks 
to  express  itself  in  song.  It  is  the  most  fitting  expression 
of  religious  emotion,  and  its  effect  upon  the  hearts  of  the 
people  is  even  beyond  that  of  the  most  eloquent  sermon. 
Ought  we  not  to  preach  less,  and  sing  more,  in  our  religious 
assemblies?  If  any  person  can  not  be  induced  to  listen  to 
our  sermon,  he  will  listen  to  our  song.     If  dull  hearen'*  can 


524.  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

not  be  conquered  by  eloquent  preachers,  they  will  be 
aroused  by  the  "  sweet  singers  of  Israel,"  who  speak  to 
each  other  *'  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs, 
fiinging  with  grace  in  [their]  hearts  to  the  Lord."  What 
heart  is  so  hard  that  it  can  not  be  touched  by  the  poetical 
strains  of  sacred  song?  Many  who  have  withstood  the 
appeals  of  sermon  after  sermon,  can  date  their  conversion 
to  the  impression  made  upon  them  by  some  simple  hymn. 
Why  should  the  world  have  better  music  than  the  church, 
and  the  devil's  choir  get  more  hearers  than  those  who  sing 
for  Christ?  The  melody  of  song,  sanctified  by  devotional 
piety,  and  poured  forth  with  the  union  of  voice  and  heart  in 
■singing  the  praises  of  God,  is  the  sublimest  and  most  in- 
spiring exercise  in  which  worshipers  can  engage.  It  kindles 
their  zeal  into  a  holy  fervor  which  swells  and  circles  up  to 
heaven  like  a  cloud  of  incense.  The  best  artistic  skill  of 
profane  and  theatrical  music  bears  no  comparison.  In  effect 
and  permanence  of  influence,  to  the  divine  power  of  sacred 
song.  There  are  some  hymns  that  will  never  get  old,  on 
account  of  their  genuine  gospel  sentiment  and  the  many 
hallowed  associations  which  they  recall  to  the  Christian's 
memory.  Will  the  church  ever  cease  to  sing,  "  There  is  a 
•fountain  filled  with  blood,"  or,  "  Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heav- 
enly dove"  ?  Wherever  you  go,  into  whatever  denomina- 
tion or  locality,  you  hear  "Rock  of  Ages"  sung  with  a  spirit 
that  thrills  the  heart  as  if  it  had  never  been  sung  before. 
Such  heaven-inspired  thoughts  and  tunes,  which  are  famil- 
iar to  everybody,  which  are  sung  in  every  Christian  land, 
which  have  done  so  much  to  cheer  disconsolate,  drooping 
spirits,  will  never  wear  out  by  use  or  time;  and  when  the 
names  of  Gluck,  Mozart,  and  Rossini  are  forgotten,  those 
of  Wesley,  Watts,. and  Ken  will  shine  all  the  brighter 
because  of  the  holy  sentiments  which  they  almost  uncon- 
sciously immortalized  in  song.     Music  is  one  of  our  spirit- 


Hymns.  525 

ual  devotions  that  will  never  be  abandoned;  for  "  the 
redeemed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  with  sing- 
ing unto  Zion."     We  shall  sing  in  heaven. 

The  preacher  should  endeavor  to  make  this  delightful 
service  of  song  the  most  profitable  portion  of  the  prepara- 
tory devotions.  "Imagination  can  hardly  set  bounds  ta 
the  spiritual  gain  that  would  come  to  the  congregations  if 
the  singing  could  be  brought  up  to  its  proper  level."  Con- 
gregational singing  is  the  ideal  of  good  church  music. 
Select  singing  by  select  singers  is  sesthetical  rather  than 
devotional  in  its  efltect,  and  deprives  the  larger  portion  of 
the  audience  of  participation  in  the  song,  making  them; 
listeners  and  not  worshipers.  "  Indeed,  the  very  idea  of 
church  music  necessitates  a  full  chorus,  or  united  song,  and 
does  not  allow  of  the  single  voice,  or  solo;  and  it  hardly 
allows  of  the  church  choir,  which  is  a  Roman  Catholic  in- 
novation; unless,  indeed,  the  choir  is  joined  with  the  sing- 
ing of  the  congregation.  The  true  way,  we  think,  to  carry 
out  the  highest  idea  of  church  music,  is  to  have  the  church 
choir  and  congregational  singing  combined."  ^ 

The  effect  of  the  song-service  depends  on: 

1.     The  kind,  of  hymns  used. 

These  should  be  the  best,  selected  with  reference  to  their 
devotional  adaptation  to  the  character  of  the  services. 
The  first  requisite  in  choosing  a  good  hymn  is  a  true 
knowledge  of  the  nature  of  lyric  poetry,  which  differs  from 
epic  and  dramatic  verse  in  that  it  is  adapted  to  vocal  and 
instrumental  music,  and  is  used  chiefly  to  express  medita- 
tive thoughts  and  emotions.  It  should  either  excite  or 
express  feeling.  The  preacher  must  learn  to  appreciate 
and  sympathize  with  this  species  of  poetic  composition. 
Let  him  study  its  best  specimens.  Among  those  in  profane 
literature,  the  reading  of  Pindar,  Horace,  and  Burns,  as 

a  Hoppin's  Office  and  Wwk  of  the  Christian  Ministry,  p.  612. 


526  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

well  as  many  of  the  old  English  ballads,  and  scattered  lyr- 
ics, will  cultivate  an  artistic  instinct  and  feeling  for  lyric 
poetry. 

But  we  must  go  to  the  sacred  odes  of  the  Christian 
church  for  our  principal  study  of  song.  The  most  popu- 
lar and  lasting  hymns  are  those  which  are  not  only  most 
lyrical  in  form,  but  at  the  same  time  the  most  deeply  per- 
meated by  Christian  life  and  feeling.  Without  these 
elements  they  could  not  be  popular,  because  lacking  the 
common  element  of  worship.  Many  of  the  hymns  of  the 
patristic  and  medieval  church,  such  as  the  Gloria  in  excelsis, 
the  Te  Deum  laudamus,  and  the  Dies  Irce,  are  unsurpassed 
in  devotional  spirit  by  anything  in  hymnology,  while  oth- 
ers are  corrupted  by  mariolatry  and  saint-worship.  The 
German  hymns  are  undoubtedly  the  richest,  both  in  quan- 
tity and  quality,  of  any  in  modern  tongues,  and  should 
be  studied  in  the  original.  English  hymnology  is  truly 
represented  by  Dr.  Watts,  of  whom  Montgomery  said,  "  He 
may  almost  be  called  the  inventor  of  hymns  in  our  lan- 
guage; for  he  so  far  departed  from  all  precedent  that  few 
of  his  compositions  resemble  those  of  his  forerunners, 
while  he  so  far  established  a  precedent  to  all  his  successors 
that  none  have  departed  from  it  otherwise  than  according 
to  the  peculiar  turn  of  mind  of  the  writer,  and  the  style 
of  expressing  Christian  truth  employed  by  the  denomina- 
tion to  which  he  belonged."  Many  other  hymns,  such  as 
those  of  Charles  Wesley,  Augustus  Toplady,  and  John 
DSTewton,  are  worthy  of  careful  study.  "  The  Lyra  Sacra 
of  America  is  well  represented.  Although  only  about 
thirty  years  old,  itis  far  richer  than  our  British  friends  are 
aware  of."  '  We  are  indebted  chiefly  to  Bishop  Doane, 
W.  A.  Muhlenberg,  A.  C.  Coxe,  Ray  Palmer,  and  Mrs. 
Sigourney  for  some  of  our  best  Christian  ballads. 

z  Dr.  Pliilii)  Schaff,  in  Preface  to  ChrUt  in  Song. 


Hymns.  527 

^"0  one  can  know  mucli  of  the  beauty  of  sacred  song 
without  imbuing  his  mind  with  the  spirit  of  Hebrew 
poetry,  which  stands  unique  in  originality,  freshness,  and 
simplicity  of  thought.  The  writer  of  the  Psalms  began  a 
new  era  in  lyric  song;  and  his  free,  spontaneous,  and  melt- 
ing eflusions  have  been  imitated  by  all  our  successful  hymn- 
writers  in  the  church.  "  The  modern  poet  must  go  to  the 
song  of  Deborah,  and  the  psalms  of  David,  for  triumphant 
and  jubilant  praise,  for  the  seven-fold  chorus  and  hallelu- 
jahs and  harping  symphonies." 

Dut  each  preacher  should  be  well  versed  in  the  hymn- 
book  of  his  own  church,  so  that  he  may,  at  any  moment, 
make  good  selections,  suited  to  every  state  or  change  in  a 
religious  meeting,  as  well  as  to  enable  him  to  make  apt 
quotations  therefrom  in  his  sermons  or  prayer-meeting 
addresses,  all  of  which  add  greatly  to  the  efi'ectiveness  of 
the  devotions.  "  A  delightful  hour  may  sometimes  be 
spent  by  friends  in  discussing  the  hymn-book,  comparing 
favorite  hymns,  reading  specimens,  and  thus  gaining  critical 
knowledge,  at  the  same  time  with  devotional  enjoyment 
and  profit."  ^ 

The  advantage  of  such  a  critical  knowledge  of  the  nat- 
ure, and  such  a  sympathetic  instinct  for  the  spirit,  of  lyric 
poetry,  consists  in  a  skill  and  taste  for  selecting  the  right 
kind  of  hymns  for  every  variety  of  devotional  services.  An 
unsuitable  selection,  made  carelessly  or  ignorantly,  often 
chills  the  spirit  of  true  devotion.  To  this  general  qualifi.- 
cation  we  add,  in  condensed  form,  a  few  special  rules  for 
selecting  proper  hymns,  as  given  by  Dr.  Broadus.  He 
says  we  should  select  hymns  that  are,  "  (1.)  Correct  in 
sentiment.  *  *  '^  ■--  (2.)  Devotional  in  spirit.  *  *  *  *  (3.) 
Poetical  in  imagery  and  diction.  =i«  *  *  *  (4,^  Rhythmical. 

1  Kroadus'  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons,  p.  4S6,  to  which  we  are  indebted  for 
many  other  valuable  suggestions  on  this  subject. 


528  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

*  *  *  *  (5.)  Symmetrical,  the  verses  exhibiting  a  regular 
progress  in  thought,  and  forniiug  a  complete  and  harmo- 
nious whole.  In  a  thoroughly  good  hymn,  it  would  not 
be  possible  to  omit  any  verse,  without  destroying  the  sense. 
Still,  there  are  many  useful  and  even  delightful  hymns  in 
which  this  is  not  the  case,  and  when  the  exigencies  of  our 
worship  require  the  omission  of  some  verse  or  verses, 
much  greater  care  should  be  taken  than  is  sometimes 
observed,  so  to  manage  the  omission  as  to  leave  the  hymn 
still  coherent  and  harmonious."  ^ 

Usually,  three  hymns  are  to  be  selected;  and  good  sense 
must  determine  the  character  of  each.  But  unless  reasons 
for  exceptions  exist,  the  general  rule  is  that  the  first  hymn 
be  purely  devotional,  without  any  reference  to  the  special 
subject  of  the  sermon,  consisting  of  invocation,  praise,  or 
expressions  of  longing  desire,  faith,  humility,  love,  etc.  If 
the  reading-lesson  preceding  it  be  devotional  in  character^ 
the  first  hymn  should  harmonize  with  its  general  tone. 
The  second  hymn,  or  the  one  immediately  preceding  the 
sermon,  will  be  intermediate,  having  reference  either  to 
what  preceded,  or  to  what  is  to  follow,  or  to  both.  The 
last  hymn  should  follow  up  the  discourse,  applying  its  les- 
sons, exciting  the  particular  feelings  and  impressing  the 
special  object  which  the  sermon  had  in  view. 

Every  one  can  see  the  propriety  of  such  management  of 
divine  services.  The  hymns  naturally  appeal  to  the  emo- 
tions, and  the  sermon  to  the  intellect.  These  two  must 
be  brought  into  the  most  favorable  relationship.  The 
opening  song  must  be  preparatory,  directing  the  hearers* 
feelings  and  sympathies  to  the  general  class  of  duties  or 
aflectious  which  the  preacher  has  in  view  for  the  occasion, 
before  they  are  advised  of  his  object;  then  follows  a  strong, 
convincing  address  to  the  intellect.     This  intellectual  ira- 

I  See  PreparaUon  and  Delivery  of  Servians,  pp.  487,  488. 


Hymns,  529 

pression  is  fittingly  brought  to  a  climactic  close  by  arous- 
ing the  feelings  through  a  powerful .  song  having  direct 
reference  to  the  sermon. 

2.     Manner  of  reading  hymns. 

The  reading  of  a  hymn  before  it  is  sung  helps  the  hearer 
to  get  the  right  sentiment  of  the  words  before  entering 
into  the  song.  Many  worshipers  lose  much  spiritual  profit 
by  not  being  taught  to  think  of  what  they  sing.  The 
music  thus  becomes  an  empty  sound,  with  little  or  no 
meaning  in  it.  It  should  be  made  not  only  to  please  the 
ear,  but  also  to  benefit  the  mind  and  heart.  The  singing 
of  words  without  previous  reflection  is  likely  to  become 
more  or  less  a  mechanical  performance;  while  the  devout 
but  unafiected  reading  of  the  hymn,  expressive  of  senti- 
ments which  the  preacher  feels  and  which  the  people  ought 
to  feel  before  uniting  to  sing  them,  will  wonderfully  in- 
crease devotional  intensity.  Sometimes  a  few  words  of 
comment  on  the  character  of  the  feelings  expressed,  calling 
the  attention  of  the  people  to  them,  will  contribute  to  this 
end.  In  rare  cases,  a  brief  rehearsal  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  verses,  or  certain  lines  in  them,  were  writ- 
ten by  the  author,  provided  they  be  important,  or  unknown 
to  our  hearers,  may  have  a  good  eflect. 

In  certain  localities,  where  many  people  can  not  read,  or 
afibrd  to  own  a  hymn-book,  it  is  proper  to  read  the  hymn 
a  second  time,  two  lines  at  a  time,  during  the  singing,  in 
order  to  enable  all  to  participate;  but  in  all  other  cases  we 
should  avoid  this  second,  piecemeal  sort  of  rehearsal,  as 
interrupting  the  singing  and  dampening  the  efi'ect.  After 
the  first  reading  is  ended,  we  should  announce  the  number 
of  the  hymn  a  second  time,  for  the  benefit  of  such  as  may 
not  have  correctly  understood  the  first  announcement,  and 
as  a  signal  for  the  leader  to  begin. 

As  to  the  manner  of  reading  hymns,  the  rule  is  to  read 


530  The  Preacher  a7id  Mis  Sermon. 

80  that  rhythm  and  rhyme  may  be  made  sensible  to  the 
ear,  but  without  giving  prominence  to  either.  Rhythm 
requires  a  more  melodious  utterance  than  prose,  and  is 
observed,  not  by  strongly  intonating  it,  but  by  the  very 
gentlest  inflection  of  the  voice;  and  rhyme  is  indicated 
by  a  very  slight  emphasis  placed  upon  it.  But  care  must 
be  used,  in  thus  marking  the  characteristics  of  a  hymn,  not 
to  acquire  a  "sing-song"  habit  of  reading.  Music  and 
poetry  are  very  nearly  allied.  Music  is  a  series  of  inartic- 
ulate, lengthened  sounds,  divided  into  even  periods  of  time. 
Poetry  is  modified  music  —  a  series  of  articulate  sounds,  or 
words,  divided  into  even  accentuations,  instead  of  even 
periods  of  time.  These  characteristics  of  music  and  poetry 
run  so  nearly  together  that  there  is  in  most  of  us  a  strong 
tendency  to  pass  from  one  to  the  other,  or  to  substitute 
the  one  for  the  other;  and  thus  rhythm  and  rhyme  come 
to  be  exchanged  for  time,  and  the  articulate  word  lapses 
into  the  musical  note.  To  avoid  the  singing  style  of 
reading,  one  should  imbue  his  mind  with  the  meaning 
and  spirit  of  the  writer,  rather  than  with  the  form  of  his 
composition,  and  try  to  give  full  expression  to  that  mean- 
ing, forgetting  poetical  arrangement,  or  at  least  subor- 
dinating sound  to  sense.  If  the  mind  dwells  too  much 
upon  the  words,  we  will  sing  them,  but  if  filled  with  the 
ideas  we  will  read  them. 

The  final  pause  at  the  end  of  every  line,  and  the  csesural 
pause,  occurring  at,  or  not  far  from,  the  middle  of  the  line, 
should  be  recognized  by  a  slight  pause  —  not  dropping,  but 
suspending  the  voice — to  mark  the  rhythm  and  rhyme. 
But  this  must  not  be  made  an  iron  rule,  that  admits  of  no 
exceptions.  Some,  in  reading  hymns,  will  make  a  pause  at 
precisely  the  same  point  in  the  meter  of  each  line,  whether 
or  not  the  sense  requires  it.  This  is  not  only  monotonous; 
it  is  erroneous.     Practice   and  skill   must  determine  the 


Public  Prayer.  53 1 

place  of  a  rhythmical  pause,  and  the  requirement  of  the 
thought  must  decide  as  to  the  observance  or  non-observ- 
ance of  such  pauses.  Whatever  poetical  forms  are  to  be 
observed  in  the  reading  of  hymns,  we  should  always 
abandon  ourselves  to  the  spirit  of  the  poet,  and  our  utter- 
ances should  be  a  faithful  echo  of  his;  but  to  do  this  we 
should  select  and  read  our  hymns  before  entering  the 
pulpit,  in  order  to  secure  adaptation  to  the  services  and 
preparation  for  their  eflectual  rendering. 

§    III.       PUBLIC    PRAYER. 

In  the  exercise  of  public  prayer  in  the  pulpit,  the  preacher 
'becomes  a  leader  of  the  people  in  their  approach  to  a 
throne  of  grace,  and  therefore  rises  to  his  highest  repre- 
sentative character.  He  is  the  mouth-piece  of  the  congrega- 
tion before  the  Father,  just  as  if  he  were  the  representative 
head  of  a  delegation  that  had  gone  to  offer  a  petition  to  a 
king.  How  responsible  his  mission,  as  he  carries  the 
wants  and  desires  of  his  flock  before  the  Lord,  speaking 
to  him  for  them  and  interceding  in  their  behalf ! 

It  is  owing  chiefly  to  this  representative  character,  that 
such  strong  attachments  are  formed  between  the  pastor 
and  his  people,  which  are  second  only  to  family  ties.  In 
his  public  prayer,  he  enters  sympathetically  into  their  cir- 
cumstances, showing  that  he  knows  and  feels  their  every- 
day temptations,  disappointments,  and  difficulties,  and  is 
mindful  of  them  at  a  throne  of  grace.  Their  joys  and 
sorrows  thus  become  mutual,  causing  them  to  feel  their 
one  common  brotherhood,  when  as  belonging  to  the  same 
family  the  pastor  addresses  his  God  and  their  God  as  '-'•Qvir 
•Father  which  art  in  heaven." 

1.     General  requisites  for  public  'prayer. 

(1.)  True  piety.  He  who  would  pray  to  the  edification 
of  others  must  be  a  man  of  frequent  and  deep  communion 


532  1  he  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

with  God,  dwelling  "  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most 
High,"  and  abiding  "  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty." 
His  private  devotions  in  the  closet  during  the  week,  by 
which  his  affections  are  made  tender, —  his  communings 
with  God  in  the  holy  mount  of  his  presence,  from  which 
he  comes  down  to  his  people  on  Sabbath  with  a  heavenly 
radiance,  give  him  unction  and  power  when  as  a  suppliant- 
he  addresses  God  in  the  public  congregation. 

(2.)  Familiarity  with  scripture  expressions.  The  lan- 
guage of  divine  inspiration  is  the  most  appropriate  for  use 
iu  the  exercise  of  fervent  prayer,  on  account  of  its  simple 
and  expressive  style.  Its  varied  devotional  passages  iu 
the  Psalms,  gospels,  and  epistles  are  suited  to  all  the  desires- 
and  feelings  of  the  human  heart,  and  are  familiar  to  all 
Christian  people.  Allusions  to  or  quotations  from  such 
Bible-thoughts,  expressive  of  our  common  experience,  call 
up,  in  the  minds  of  the  worshiping  congregation,  a  train  of 
associations  and  memories,  and  awaken  solemn  reflections,, 
heart-felt  gratitude,  and  humble  adoration  to  God.  Famil- 
iarity with  the  devotional  passages  of  scripture,  and  apt- 
ness iu  their  quotation,  will  greatly  assist  in  public  prayer. 

(3.)  Study  of  the  subject  and  models  of  prayer.  It  will 
be  an  advantage  to  study  the  nature  and  office  of  prayer,. 
as  presented  in  some  excellent  treatises,  such  as  Miller,. 
Watts,  or  Walford,  on  prayer.  E.  Porter,  in  his  "Lect- 
ures on  Homiletics,"  and  Dabney,  in  his  "  Sacred  Rhet- 
oric," treat  this  subject  at  length.  Many  specimens  of 
prayer,  as  presented  in  the  Bible,  in  liturgies,  and  in  books 
of  published  sermons  with  their  accompanying  prayers,' 
should  be  studied,  not  for  imitation,  but  for  illustration 
of  the  true  principle,  matter,  and  manner  of  prayer. 

(4.)  Premeditation.  If  the  pastor  is  to  represent  hia^ 
hearers  at  a  throne  of  grace,  he  should  prepare  himself  for 

t  The  prayers  of  Parker,  of  London,  and  Beecher,  of  Urooklyn,  are  good  modela. 


Public  Prayer.  533 

it  before  ofi'ering  a  public  prayer,  by  previously  reflecting 
upon  their  wants  and  feelings,  so  as  to  be  enabled  to  pray 
intelligently  and  effectively.  It  would  be  a  thoughtless, 
random  service,  disrespectful  to  God  and  unfair  to  a  con- 
gregation, to  rush  recklessly  into  the  solemn  presence  of 
"God  for  supplication,  with  hardly  a  thought  beforehand 
as  to  the  particular  things  needed  for  himself,  his  people, 
■or  the  services  of  the  hour.^  Premeditation  will  secure 
variety,  directness,  and  simplicity  of  petition,  without  the 
vague  generalities,  vain  repetitions,  rambling  circumlocu- 
tions, and  monotonous  routine  so  common  in  unpremed- 
itated prayer.  It  will,  of  course,  be  extemporaneous,  but 
not  thoughtless  rhapsody. 

2.     ImjJorta.nt  qualities  of  public  prayer. 

(1.)  As  to  its  substance.  The  matter  or  contents  of 
supplication  will  depend  mainly  on  the  character  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  occasion,  and  for  the  selection  of  it  pre- 
meditation, as  above  observed,  is  required;  but  there  are 
some  topics  independent  of  any  relation  to  a  congregation 
which  may  become  subjects  of  supplication  in  every  public 
prayer;  such  as  the  general  interests  of  God's  church  and 
kingdom  on  earth, —  as  indicated  in  the  opening  portion 
of  petitions  in  the  Lord's  Prayer, —  which  include  prayer 
for  missions, —  home,  frontier,  and  foreign;  Sunday-school 

I  Dr.  John  Campbell  says,  "  My  custom  for  many  years  has  been,  to  ponder  on  a  Sab- 
•bath  morning  such  facts  concerning  the  fellowship  as  might  have  come  to  my  knowledge 
during  the  course  of  the  week.  I  have  taken  a  slip  of  paper  and  jotted  down  the  several 
items;  e.  (].: — Are  any  sick?  Is  any  member  suffering  from  sorrow,  relative  or  personal? 
■Has  any  death  occurred?  What  is  there  in  the  Sabbath-school  demanding  special  notice? 
Are  there  any  inquiring  the  way  of  salvation?  By  asking  those  questions,  you  will  be  in 
a  position  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people  in  an  acceptable  manner.  Be  assured  that,  if 
•you  wish  the  congregation  to  follow  the  line  of  petition,  you  must  touch  every  heart,  and, 
as  far  as  practicable,  allude  to  every  case;  in  this  way,  the  devotional  exercise  becomes 
thoroughly  congregational.  It  has  frequently  hapf>ened  that  men  have  been  brought  to 
God  in  the  act  of  public  prayer, —  their  case  has  been  so  strikingly  marked  out,  and 
-mercy  so  fervently  implored,  that  they  have  been  brought  to  consideration  and  peni- 
tence. It  must  of  necessity  arouse  attention,  when  a  professed  worshiper  can  say,  'That's 
tny  case,'  wliile  the  minister  is  leading  the  devotion;  and  having  excited  attention,  there 
«8  every  prospect  of  creating  sympathy."— Quoted  by  Parker,  in  Ad  Clerum,  p.  165. 


534  '^^'■^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

enterprises;  moral  reforms;  the  conversion  of  sinners,  and 
the  increase  of  truth  and  righteousness  among  men  of  all 
conditions  and  nations.  Prayer  should  also  consist  of  ado- 
ration, confession,  and  praise,  and  such  appropriate  topics 
of  devotion  as  belong  to  true  worship.  It  should  fre- 
quently have  reference  to  civil  government,  officers,  and 
political  interests;  for  the  apostle  says,  "I  exhort  there- 
fore, that,  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers,  intercessions, 
and  giving  of  thanks,  he  made  for  all  men;  for  kings,  and 
for  all  that  are  in  authority."  Nothing  didactic  or  histor- 
ical, consisting  of  formal  statements  and  rehearsals  which 
seem  more  like  instructing  than  supplicating  God,  should 
enter  into  our  petitions.  Expressions  of  our  feelings  con- 
cerning certain  subjects  which  become  "  occasions  for 
thanksgiving  or  petition,"  are  admissible,  provided  they  be 
oflered  in  the  form  of  an  experience,  and  not  of  instruction. 
Exhorting,  reproving,  or  complimenting  a  congregation  is 
much  out  of  place  in  a  prayer.  We  should  remember  that 
we  ai^e  addressing  God,  and  not  man. 

(2.)  As  to  its  method.  Public  prayer  should  have  an 
order  and  a  plan.  This  does  not  imply  a  strict,  formal 
adherence  to  the  scientific  rules  of  disposition,  but  the  ob- 
servance of  some  kind  of  method  and  arrangement  in  our 
supplication  that  will  seem  the  most  natural  and  logicaL 

Usually  the  several  parts  of  a  prayer  are  (a.)  the  pref- 
ace, including  the  direct  address  or  invocation,  acknowl- 
edgment of  unworthiness,  imploring  of  divine  assistance 
and  attention,  or  adoration.  (6.)  Confession,  and  prayer 
for  pardon.  (<?.)  Petitions,  beginning  with  those  that  are 
general,  and  relate  to  God  and  his  kingdom,  and  ending 
with  those  that  are  special,  and  relate  to  ourselves  as  wor- 
shipers. ((/.)  Thanksgiving.  This  order  may  be  changed. 
Thanksgiving  may  precede  or  follow  confession,  according 
to  circumstances  and  feelings.     There  is  no  rule  determin- 


Public  Prayer,  535 

ing  in  wliat  proportion  each  of  these  parts  should  enter 
into  prayer.  Sometimes  confession,  or  praise,  will  be  most 
prominent,  —  seldom  should  these  be  entirely  wanting, — 
while  petitions  must  constitute  the  bulk  of  every  prayer; 
for  to  pray  is  essentially  to  ask  for  something.  A  prayer 
after  the  sermon  will  omit  some  of  these  parts  mentioned, 
and  apply  itself  to  the  truth  which  has  been  presented. 

While  there  ought  to  be  method,  it  should,  however,  not 
become  uniform.  There  should  be  variety  in  method  as 
well  as  in  matter.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  prayers  of 
many  pious  ministers  have  such  a  stereotyped  uniformity 
that  nearly  every  one  knows  before  they  commence  what 
the  prayer  will  be.  The  people  have  heard  it  so  often  that 
they  know  it  by  heart.^  "  In  reality,  it  is  a  form,  which  is 
repeated  from  habit  and  memoriter.  It  is  destitute  of  the 
excellences  of  written  prayers,  and  yet  is  as  monotonous, 
and  uniform,  as  they  are."  ^ 

(3.)  As  to  its  language  and  style.  Simplicity  is  the 
characteristic  feature  of  the  language  of  devotion,  and  the 
most  natural  expression  of  devout  feeling  and  heart-felt 
desire.  Sometimes,  under  intense  emotion,  it  may  become 
fiofurative,  but  it  should  never  deo;enerate  into  the  inflated 
style  of  rhetorical  display.  "What  are  called  "eloquent 
prayers"  may  be  fine  speeches  but  poor  prayers,  since  they 
must  be  designed  more  for  the  ear  of  man  than  for  the  ear 
of  God.  A  reporter  said  more  than  he  had  intended  when 
he  described  a  prayer  of  Edward  Everett,  the  orator,  as 
"  the  most  eloquent  prayer  that  was  ever  addressed  to  a 
Boston  audience."  This  intended  compliment  was  a  severe 
and  just  criticism. 

All  grammatical  errors,  colloquialisms,  vulgarisms,  and 

I  "When  will  he  get  through?"  asked  a  tired  hearer  of  an  inattentive  worshiper. 
•'  Has  he  got  lo  the  Jews?  If  so,  he  is  just  half  through,"  was  the  reply.  "  The  Jews  " 
was  the  well  known  half-way  station.  Another  minister  always  closed  his  prayer  with 
••  Make  this  land  thine  American  Israel." 

3  Bhedd's  Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology,  p.  311. 


53^  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

trivialities  must  be  guarded  against,  as  well  as  all  pretty 
eeuteuces,  or  stereotyped  phrases,  which  a  preacher  may 
have  adopted  as  his  favorite  expressions  in  prayer.     The 
too  frequent  use  of  exclamations,  expletives,  and  redundan- 
cies, as,  "Oh!"  "Alas!"  "0,  Lord!"  "We   pray  thee!" 
"We  beseech  thee!"  etc.,  are  blemishes  in  prayer.    In  the 
use  of  scripture   phrases  we  should   quote  correctly,  and 
especially  not  introduce  variations  or  additions,  such  as 
are  heard  so  often  in  different  localities,  and  which   are 
traditions  quoted  as  scripture.     Examples  are  numerous: 
"  There   is   forgiveness   with   thee,   that   thou   mayest   be 
feared,  and  plenteous  redemption,  that  thou  mayest  he  sought 
unto";  "Where  two  or  three  *  -i^  *  *  there  am  I  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  that  to  bless  them";  "Thou  canst   not 
look  upon  sin  without  abhorrence"  or  "  with  the  least  degree 
of  allowance  ";  "  The  dark  places  of  the  earth  are  full  of  the 
habitations  of  horrid  cruelty."     The  words  in  Italics   are 
unwarranted  additions.     God  is  often  called  "the  hearer 
and  ansiverer  of  prayer";  and  familiar  expressions  found 
iu  hymns  and  proverbs  are  sometimes  erroneously  or  half- 
unconsciously  ascribed  to  some  inspired  author. 

(4.)  As  to  its  tone  and  utterance.  Public  prayer  should 
be  characterized  by  that  tenderness  of  voice  which  becomes 
the  delivery  of  supplication.  There  should  be  an  under- 
tone of  contrition,  humility,  and  reverence,  breathing  forth 
in  subdued  and  plaintive  notes  the  spirit  of  fervent  en- 
treaty into  the  cars  of  One  whom  we  fear  and  adore. 
There  should  be  no  inordinate  loudness.  Animation  and 
fervency  in  prayer  are  something  quite  different  from  vocif- 
eration. Great  volubility  and  vocal  vehemence  are  out 
of  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  meekness  and  solemnity, 
and  offend  the  ear  and  jar  the  nerves  of  the  sensitive,  de- 
stroying their  devotional  feeling.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
utterance  should  not  be  so  feeble  as  to  be  inaudible  or  in- 


The  Benediction.  537 

distinct  to  a  part  of  the  congregation.  It  is  important  in 
the  beginning  of  a  prayer  to  give  the  voice  the  right  pitch, 
and  to  continue  with  proper  modulation  and  Hexibility 
without  departing  from  one's  most  natural  key  of  voice. 
One  should  avoid  a  hurried,  "  headlong,  and  confused 
enunciation." 

(5.)  As  to  its  length.  The  most  common  fault  in  public 
prayer  is  excessive  length.  The  Bible  emphatically  con- 
demns long  prayers,  as  being  a  sign  of  insincerity  and 
formality,  oiiered  up  for  a  pretense,  or  to  be  heard  by  men. 
*■'■  It  is  to  be  observed  that  long  prayers  are  not  the  usual 
characteristic  of  a  very  vital  condition  of  Christianity,  but 
rather  of  a  time  when  formal  services  are  substituted  for 
true  spiritual  worship."  Fervency  of  spirit,  and  directness 
of  aim,  express  themselves  in  short,  impressive  sentences, 
which  cease  before  tediousness  dampens  the  spirit  of  devo- 
tion. Attention  can  not  well  be  sustained  beyond  a  certain 
point;  having  reached  it,  interest  flags,  and  devotion  dies. 
A  prayer  of  five  or  eight  minutes,  in  ordinary  circum- 
stances, is  long  enough. 

As  regards  public  prayer,  let  the  main  consideration  be 
to  pray  sincerely  as  in  the  presence  of  God,  the  searchei 
of  hearts;  for  here,  as  in  every  other  part  of  divine  services, 
piety,  judgment,  and  common  sense  will  dictate  the  true 
matter  and  manner  of  religious  exercises. 

§   IV.      THE   BENEDICTION. 

The  benediction  is  the  blessing  of  the  people  by  the 
minister  at  the  close  of  a  religious  service,  as  an  appropri- 
ate form  of  tlismissing  a  congregation.  It  is  not  a  sacer- 
dotal ceremony,  like  that  of  priestly  absolution  in  the 
Romish  Church,  performed  by  aspersions  of  holy  water, 
signs  of  the  cross,  etc.,  but  it  is  rather  a  short  prayer,  in 
which  the  minister  does  not  impart  any  blessing,  but  invokes 
the  peace  and  blessing  of  God  upon  the  people. 


538  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

Such  a  final  act  of  worship  meets  a  natural  craving  of  a 
worshiping  congregation.  After  passing  through  the  vari- 
ous exercises  of  public  worship,  consisting  of  song,  prayer^ 
sermon,  and  scripture-reading,  the  "intervention  of  a  soli- 
tary human  voice  between  the  silent  assen:ibly  and  God, 
speaking  in  his  name  and  pronouncing  his  blessing  upon 
them,"  is  what  all  feel  to  be  a  necessity  before  leaving 
God's  house  and  separating  from  each  other. 

There  are  various  forms  of  a  closing  benediction.  The 
great  apostolic  benediction  in  II.  Corinthians  xiii.  14  is 
always  appropriate:  "The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,. 
and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  be  with  you  all.  Amen."  The  form  chiefly  used 
in  American  Protestant  churches  is  composed,  in  the  first 
part,  of  Philippians  iv.  7,  and  in  the  latter  part,  of  a  para- 
phrase of  JSTumbers  vi.  24,  25,  and  is  as  follows:  "The 
peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding,  keep  your 
hearts  and  minds  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  and 
of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord;  and  the  blessing  of  God 
Almighty,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be 
among  you  and  remain  with  you  always.  Amen."  Some- 
times the  exact  words  as  recorded  in  verses  twenty-four, 
twenty-five,  and  twenty-six  of  the  sixth  chapter  of  Num- 
bers are  used.  Often  the  regular  benediction  may  be 
preceded  by  a  few  words  of  prayer,  appropriate  to  the 
discourse  delivered.  In  the  ancient  church  a  sort  of  brief 
doxology  or  benediction, —  such  as,  "Blessed  be  God!" 
"Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord!"  or  "Peace  be  unto 
you," — was  often  used  before  beginning  a  sermon,  but  was 
subsequently  changed  in  form  and  used  at  the  close  of  a 
service.  Hence  it  is  a  custom  of  long  standing,  whose 
propriety  no  one  will  now  question. 

In  regard  to  this  whole  matter  of  worship  in  the  sanct- 
uary it  is  necessary  to  add  only  a  few  words.     Since  these 


The  Benediction.  539 

devotions  are  acts  of  homage  to  the  Deity,  and  not  an 
address  to  humanity,  we  should  not  indulge  in  gesticula- 
tion during  devotional  exercises,  but  assume  such  a  posture 
as  becomes  a  worshiper  in  his  relation  and  address  to  God. 
Kneeling  during  prayer  is  the  most  becoming  attitude  of 
humility  and  solicitation,  while  the  closed  eye  and  up- 
turned gaze  during  prayer  or  the  benediction  are  indicative 
of  our  privacy  when,  with  closed  eyes,  we  shut  out  the 
world  and  shut  in  our  souls  with  God,  and  look  to  heaven 
as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible.^  The  position  of  the 
uplifted,  outstretched  arms,  while  uttering  the  benediction, 
too  much  resembles  the  Romish  custom  of  absolution,  and 
should  be  exchanged  for  the  applied  position  of  the  hands, 
as  in  prayer;  or,  perhaps,  no  special  position  should  be 
assumed. 

"We  do  not  see  why  a  minister  should  not  welcome  and 
even  encourage  audible  responses  from  the  congregation 
during  prayer  and  preaching,  provided  the  "amens"  be 
the  sincere  expression  of  an  assenting  heart,  and  not 
formal,  thoughtless  responses;  or  so  profuse  and  boisterous 
as  to  interrupt  the  speaker,  or  the  devotions.  In  the  sol- 
emn services  of  God's  house,  everything  should  be  "  done 
decently  and  in  order." 

1  The  Mohammedan  prays  with  his  face  toward  Mecca,  the  birthplace  of  the  founder 
of  his  religion.  The  Jew  prays  with  his  face  turned  toward  Jerusalem,  where  was  th» 
temple  and  the  Shekinah.  The  Christian  turns  his  gaze  to  heaven,  where  dwells  the 
Father. 


CHAPTER    II. 

MISCELLANEOUS  ADDRESSES. 
Platform  Addresses  —  Prayer-Meeting  Addresses  —  Pulpit  Addresses. 

The  preacher  is  a  professional  speaker,  and  is  regarded 
by  the  community  in  which  he  lives  as  its  mouth-piece  in 
nearly  all  matters  requiring  public  deliberation  and  ad- 
dress. He  should  not,  however,  so  far  surrender  himself 
to  his  profession  of  eloquence  as  to  mount  the  rostrum  at 
every  solicitation  and  on  every  occasion;  for  some  spe- 
cies of  oratory  are  below  ministerial  dignity,  or  beyond 
the  limits  of  ministerial  propriety.  Yet  there  are  many 
benevolent  and  Christian  enterprises  in  which  the  preacher 
and  hi?  more  intelligent  lay  members  should  heartily 
engage,  not  only  in  private  labor,  out  ii  public  counsel 
and  address. 

Speaking  oratorically  in  the  interests  of  such  miscellane 
ous  enterprises  is  not  preaching.  Such  public  addresses 
are  usually  denominated  "  speeches,"  "  addresses,"  "  lect- 
ures," or  "  orations,"  according  to  the  nature  of  the  subject 
and  occasion,  and  dilfer  from  the  sermon  in  being  only 
indirectly  aimed  at  the  salvation  of  the  hearer,  while  the 
regular  sermon  is  more  systematic,  and  aimed  directly  at 
the  hearer's  salvation.  Perhaps  a  more  discriminating 
distinction  of  purpose  is,  that  one  is  in  the  interest  of 
morality,  benevolence,  or  culture,  the  other  in  the  interest 
of  Christianity  and  its  institutions. 

But  there  is  a  sjiecies  of  oratory  whose  object  is  the 

540 


Platform  Addresses.  541 

same  as  that  of  the  sermon,  but  which  differs  from  it 
widely  in  its  method  and  general  structure.  It  is  addressed 
to  Christians  for  edification,  or  to  non- Christians  with  the 
object  of  conversion,  aud  belongs  to  this  branch  of  sacred 
rhetoric. 

All  these  miscellaneous  addresses,  which  are  numerous 
and  various,  and  yet  akin  to  the  sermon,  we  will  classify 
under  three  heads,  as  Platform  Addresses,  Prayer-meetinff 
Addresses,  and  Pulpit  Addresses.  % 

§    I.       PLATFORM    ADDRESSES. 

"  During  the  last  century  the  increased  activity  of  the 
church  has  made  new  claims  upon  the  oratorical  powers  of 
the  ministry.  There  has,  in  fact,  sprung  up  in  Protestant 
countries  a  style  of  Christian  oratory  unknown  in  former 
times.  For  lack  of  a  better  designation  it  may  be  indi- 
cated by  the  term  platform  addresses.  This  peculiar 
homiletical  production  of  the  nineteenth  century  owes  its 
origin  to  the  necessities  of  numerous  benevolent  agencies, 
for  which  funds  require  to  be  solicited,  and  by  means  of 
which  the  philanthropic  interests  of  individuals  and  com- 
munities are  promoted.  To  attain  these  objects  most 
effectually,  the  formalities  of  the  pulpit  are  laid  aside,  and 
a  greater  freedom  of  address  encouraged.  Not  only  in  the 
cause  of  Christian  missions,  and  its  auxiliary  enterprises 
of  Bible  and  tract  distribution,  has  the  platform  address 
been  highly  popular  and  useful,  but  also  in  that  of  temper- 
ance, an  essential  but  recently  developed  branch  of  moral 
reform.  Widows  and  orphan  asylums,  Sunday-schools, 
societies  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  the  aged,  and  the  blind, 
and,  in  fact,  every  species  of  benevolent  effort,  have  de- 
manded, and  will  hereafter  continue  to  demand,  clerical 
advocacy.  Consequently,  no  minister  of  the  present  age  is 
properly  prepared  for  his  work  who  is  not  qualified  to 


542  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermo7i. 

epeak  publicly  and  effectually  in  behalf  of  the  various 
efforts  in  which  Christian  men  and  churches  ought  to 
engage.  The  minister  should  also  be  prepared  to  par- 
ticipate by  appropriate  public  addresses  in  all  patriotic 
and  social  anniversaries,  turning  them  to  a  good  moral  and 
religious  account."' 

Most  of  the  general  rules  of  homiletics  will  also  apply 
to  platform  addresses,  so  that  it  is  generally  presumed  that 
he  who  can  preach  a  good  sermon  can  also  make  a  good 
speech.  But  since  oratory  of  the  platform  is  a  distinct 
species,  like  that  of  the  bar,  the  senate,  or  the  pulpit,  and 
often  engaged  in  by  laymen,  who  are  not  supposed  to  be 
familiar  with  the  canons  of  homiletics,  we  will  give  a  few 
hints  upon  platform  address. 

1.  The  first  requisite  is  a  fund  of  general  and  special 
knowledge.  To  speak  extemporaneously  is  an  art  that 
can  be  acquired;  but  to  speak  from  vacuity  is  an  impos- 
sibility. A  speaker's  general  knowledge  should  be  far- 
reaching,  extending  to  nearly  all  subjects  of  interest.  In 
character,  it  is  cyclopedic  rather  than  exhaustive,  consist- 
ing in  outline  more  than  elaboration,  thus  affording  a 
general  survey  of  the  field  of  knowledge  as  a  supply  of 
ideas  for  nearly  every  occasion  and  assembly. 

His  special  knowledge  will  have  reference  to  the  par- 
ticular interest  or  subject  upon  which  he  is  to  speak. 
"Whether  the  meeting  be  of  a  literary,  educational,  reform- 
atory, charitable,  juvenile,  or  social  nature,  the  speaker 
should  give  particular  study  to  the  one  in  which  he  is  to 
participate,  as  a  preparation  for  his  address;  and  then, 
having  selected  his  subject,  let  him  get  full  to  overflowing 
of  its  spirit.  His  general  information  will  furnish  a  back- 
ground for  any  and  every  local  or  special  subject;  while 
his  special  information   furnishes   adaptation  and  secures 

s  Kidder's  Homiletics,  pp.  98,  99. 


Platfoi^m  Addresses.  543 

pertiDency.  Often  official  specialists  are  chosen  to  deliver 
the  principal  address;  but  as  these  are  not  always  availa- 
ble, the  minister  and  his  lay  parishioners  sometimes  are 
■substituted,  or  called  upon  to  assist. 

2.  Another  requisite  is  a  lively  imagination  and  sensi- 
bility. A  fund  of  merely  intellectual  ideas  may  produce  a 
dry,  prosy  speaker;  and  without  the  quickening  elements 
of  the  mind  and  heart  the  speaker  becomes  automatic. 
The  inventive  faculty  is  the  imagination;  the  emotive  fac- 
ulty is  the  sensibility;  and  these  two  inspire  the  whole  train 
•of  thought  with  eloquence.  The  emotions  may  run  to 
■excess  in  a  highly  imaginative  mind,  and  therefore  two 
extremes  should  be  avoided:  first,  of  weeping  during  de- 
livery (the  speaker  may  weep  with  the  voice,  but  not  with 
the  eyes);  second,  of  undue  levity  in  matter  or  manner. 
An  ordinary  degree  of  humor  is  occasionally  needful  to 
light  up  an  address,  and  relieve  it  of  monotony;  but  this 
humor  must  be  held  under  proper  control. 

3.  A  good  delivery.  This  implies  a  variety  of  partic- 
ulars, principal  among  which  are  a  fair  knowledge  and 
command  of  one's  own  language,  a  practical  understand- 
ing of  the  rules  of  rhetoric  and  elocution,  and  a  facility 
of  illustrating  and  amplifying  a  subject.  He  is  the  best 
speaker  who  gives  his  hearers  the  clearest  facts,  strongly 
and  manfully  expressed. 

In  conferences,  and  deliberative  bodies  convened  for  the 
discussion  of  questions,  or  conferring  in  council,  speeches 
should  be  brief  and  pointed.  One  should  address  the 
meeting  in  a  business-like  manner,  limiting  his  talk  strictly 
to  the  matter  in  hand,  and  saying  what  he  has  to  say  in 
the  fewest  words.  The  oratorical  in  matter  and  manner 
must  be  laid  aside,  and  attention  given  to  the  practical — 
to  facts  and  figures.  He  must  not  play  the  orator,  but 
show  himself  a  sensible  man,  who  can  adapt  himself  to 
the  occasion. 


544  ^'^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

§    n.       PRAYER-MEETING   ADDRESSES. 

By  prayer-meetings  we  mean  all  social  gatherings  for 
divino  worship, — whether  consisting  of  prayer,  testimony, 
praise,  experience,  scripture  promises,  or  all  combined, — 
held  for  the  edification  of  Christians,  and  in  which  every- 
body has  a  voice,  with  liberty  to  speak,  pray,  give  advice, 
information,  or  exhortation  that  will  advance  faith  and 
provoke  one  another  unto  "love  and  good  works."  By 
addresses  at  such  meetings  we  mean,  especially,  the  opening- 
address  or  exhortation  by  the  leader  of  the  meeting.  The 
conducting  of  the  exercises  is  a  subject  for  pastoral  theol- 
ogy; but  the  consideration  of  the  introductory  address  ia 
its  rhetorical  element  falls  within  our  province. 

We  will  consider  — 

1.  The  importance  of  preparing  for  the  opening  re- 
marks. Yery  frequently  the  whole  success  of  the  meeting 
depends  on  what  the  leader  feels  and  says  at  the  beginning. 
He  figures  most  prominently  among  the  worshipers;  he 
gives  the  key-note  to  the  exercises,  indicates  the  direction 
of  the  devotional  spirit,  inspires  faith  and  zeal,  and  in  the 
quickest,  most  practical,  and  most  earnest  way  kindles  the 
fire  in  every  bosom.  But  to  do  this  requires  forethought, 
and  not  a  little  mental  and  spiritual  preparation.  No  one, 
except,  perhaps,  the  most  experienced,  can  arise  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice  and  properly  introduce  the  exercises  of  a 
prayer-meeting. 

Then,  again,  the  suggestions  and  ideas  of  the  leader 
should  not  be  the  repetition  of  old,  worn-out  methods,  that 
have  lost  all  power  of  impression  upon  the  worshiper  by 
the  frequency  of  their  use.  He  must  have  something 
specially  prepared  for  each  occasion.  Something  new  in 
thought,  experience,  or  plan,  that  will  arrest  attention, 
excite  thonghtfulness,   and   intensify   devotion,  is  almost 


Prayer- Meeting  Addresses.  545 

always  sure  to  be  followed  by  a  season  of  great  spiritual 
profit. 

How  necessary,  then,  that  he  who  is  to  conduct  the 
meeting  should  seriously  consider  how  much  the  success 
of  the  devotions  depends  on  him,  and  how  much  he  can 
contribute  in  making  them  profitable  to  those  who  are 
present,  by  coming  before  them  fully  equipped  for  the 
work  he  is  to  perform.  He  needs  preparation  for  the 
prayer-meeting  as  much  as  the  preacher  needs  it  for  the 
pulpit;  and  the  character  which  he  gives  to  this  form  of 
worship  may  do  the  soul  more  real  good  than  the  regular 
sermon.  Let  him  but  try  his  utmost,  and  he  will  be  grat- 
ified to  see  the  results  which  will  almost  certainly  man- 
ifest themselves  in  an  increased  attendance  and  interest 
in  the  prayer-meeting. 

As  to  the  method  of  preparation,  we  offer  the  following 
brief  suggestions:  Visiting  among  the  people,  especially 
the  sick,  poor,  and  unfortunate,  gives  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity for  learning  lessons  of  real  practical  life,  and  will 
furnish  many  a  thought  for  the  prayer-meeting.  We 
should  not  hesitate  to  talk  with  others  upon  our  subject; 
for  conversation  with  different  persons  on  the  same  topic 
will  often  suggest  valuable  hints.  We  should,  of  course, 
read  upon  our  subject,  and  may  sometimes  write  upon  it, 
not  to  commit  and  recite  at  the  prayer-meeting,  but  as  a 
stimulant  to  the  production  of  ideas.  Meditation  and 
prayer  are  necessary,  especially  before  entering  the  audi- 
ence-room. After  the  most  thorough  study,  we  should 
nevertheless  feel  our  insufficiency,  knowing  that  "  Without 
Me  ye  can  do  nothing." 

2.  The  selection  of  topics.  A  topic  is  necessary  in 
order  to  give  directness  and  efi'ect  to  a  meeting,  especially 
to  the  opening  remarks.  Wisdom  must  dictate  the  kind 
of  subject  most  suitable  for  comment  at  a  prayer-meeting* 


54^  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

It  need  not  be  included  in  the  scripture  reading-lesson 
that  precedes  it;  but  the  important  desideratum  is,  that 
from  whatever  source  derived,  it  be  adapted  to  the  object 
of  such  a  meeting,  which  is  to  edify  the  Christian,  confirm 
his  faith,  quicken  his  love,  and  arouse  his  activity.  The 
practical  and  devotional  must  be  preferred  to  the  doctrinal 
and  didactic.  Something  is  needed  that  will  express  sym- 
pathy, and  impart  strength  and  patience  to  those  who 
are  battling  with  the  trials  and  burdens  of  daily  life.  An 
item  from  the  day's  or  week's  experience,  new  ideas  that 
have  occurred  to  us  in  the  reading  and  study  of  God'j 
"Word,  victories  gained  over  temptation,  burdens  which 
oppress  us  or  others, —  any  of  those  things  that  lie  nearest 
and  freshest  in  our  hearts,  will  be  suitable  subjects  to  pre- 
sent for  prayer  and  contemplation  at  the  meeting. 

It  may  help  us  to  select  subjects  which  will  meet  the 
wants  of  the  worshipers,  and  fall  into  sympathy  with 
their  daily  life,  if  we  sometimes  allow  them  to  select  the 
themes  for  us.  During  our  visits  and  social  interview* 
we  may  privately  ask  a  number  of  people,  representing 
the  various  classes  of  Christians,  to  prepare  a  list  of  about 
half  a  dozen  subjects  which  they  would  like  to  have  ex- 
plained or  prayed  over,  and  hand  them  to  us.  From  these 
practical  gleanings  from  the  various  ideas  and  experiences 
of  every-day  life,  we  may  select  a  list  of  valuable  topics 
that  will  be  sure  to  be  of  interest  in  a  prayer-meeting. 
They  will  be  fresh,  pleasing,  and  profitable,  and  will 
probably  cover  nearly  the  whole  range  of  Christian  expe- 
rience, daily  life,  and  vital  doctrine. 

Sometimes  the  loader  will  choose  the  subject  of  the 
Sunday-school  lesson  for  his  opening  remarks — and  occa- 
sionally it  is  well  adapted;  but  as  a  rule,  the  Sunday-school 
topics  are  selected  with  reference  to  the  wants  of  the 
school,  rather  than  to  the  requirements  of  a  prayer-meet- 


Prayer- Meeting  Addresses.  547 

ing.  A  better  way  of  choosing  scripture-subjects  is  to  read 
the  Bible  through  from  beginning  to  end,  with  a  view  to 
finding  out  the  most  suitable  topics  for  the  prayer-meeting, 
and  noting  them  down,  together  with  hints  and  sugges- 
tions upon  them,  as  they  occur  to  us  in  our  reading  and 
reflection. 

Again,  the  seasons,  events,  or  signal  providences  of  the 
year  may  suggest  fresh  subjects  for  a  religious  meeting. 
Thus,  "Seed-time"  (Gal.  vi.  7.)  is  a  subject  for  a  spring 
service;  and  "  Reaping- time  "  (II.  Cor.  ix.  6,  or  Gal.  vi.  8.), 
for  an  autumn  meeting,  when  the  ingathering  of  grain 
and  fruit  can  be  made  to  teach  many  lessons  of  life's 
spiritual  harvest-time.  "Our  Ebenezer, "  or  "Hitherto 
hath  the  Lord  helped  us,"  (I.  Sam.  vii.  12,)  is  richly  sug- 
gestive for  a  remembrance  meeting  at  the  close  of  the 
year;  the  loss  of  a  useful  church-member,  sudden  death  in 
the  community,  or  any  distressing  calamity,  may  be  asso- 
ciated with  such  scripture  as  Psalms  xc,  or  Ecc.  vii.  14, 
"  In  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful,  but  in  the  day  of 
adversity  consider." 

But,  regardless  of  the  subject  which  times  and  circum- 
stances may  suggest,  we  should  suggest  times  and  circum- 
stances by  creating  new  interests  or  opening  up  new  lines 
of  thought  and  activity.  James  v.  16,  will  preface  a  meet- 
ing for  confession  and  prayer  for  one  another.  A  strong, 
animated  address  upon  "  Eegeneration,"  or  "  The  Duty  of 
Laboring  for  the  Conversion  of  Sinners,"  might  be  the 
beginning  of  a  great  revival  of  religion.  Indeed,  the  sub- 
jects brought  before  a  week-day  meeting  by  the  leader 
should  have  reference  to  new  developments  of  activity  and 
extended  usefulness  in  church-work. 

Some  churches  adopt  a  series  of  uniform  topics  for  the 
prayer-meeting,  which  are  published  and  distributed  among 
the   people   each   year.      This   furnishes  the  leader  with 


548  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

properly  prepared  subjects,  avoids  tlie  necessity  of  announc- 
ing them  a  week  previous,  and  aftbrds  all  an  opportunity 
to  study  and  prepare  upon  the  subjects.  It  is  only  fol- 
lowing the  plan  of  the  uniform  Sunday-school  lessons, 
and  of  the  subjects  selected  for  the  week  of  prayer  by 
the  Evangelical  Alliance;  and  as  time  adds  new  improve- 
ments to  the  prayer-meeting,  this  custom  of  using  uniform 
topics,  which  some  congregations  have  already  adopted, 
may  become  international,  and  engage  more  interest  than 
has  hitherto  been  dreamed  of. 

The  following  list  of  uniform  topics  used  by  several 
Presbyterian  churches  is  taken  from  "The  Prayer-Meet- 
ing,'* by  L.  0.  Thompson : 

Jan.      2.  Opening  of  the  year.     Ex.  xiii.  10;  Deut.  xiv.  22. 

"        9.  Foreign  Missions,  General  Review.     Matt.  xiii.  38. 

"      16.  Working  for  God  every  day.     Ps.  xcvi.  2;  Heb.  iii.  13. 

"      23.  The  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     John  xvi.  8-14. 

"      30.  Prayer  for  Schools.     Isa.  liv.  13;  Dan.  i.  17. 

Feb.     6.  Monthly   Concert     China  and    the    Chinese   in   America. 
Ps.  ii.  8. 

"       13.  The  Helping  Hand.     Gal.  vi.  1-10. 

•*      20.  Sources  of  Christian  Life  and  Growth.     Actsxx.  32;  John 
XV.  4;  Deut.  viii.  3;  I.  Pet.  ii.  2. 

"      27.  Out  into  the  Highways.     Luke  xiv.  16-24. 

Mar.     6.  Monthly  Concert.     Mexico  and  New  Mexico.    Ps.  cxix.  130. 

«      13.  Why  Read  the  Bible?    John  xx.  31;  IL  Tim.  iii.  15-17. 

"      20.  How  to  Read  the  Bible.     Acts  xvii.  11;  Job  xxiii.  12. 

"      27.  Work  and  Wages.     Matt,  xx,  1-16. 

April     3.  Control  of  the  Tongue.    Jas.  i.  26;  Jas.  iii.  5-13. 

"       10.  Monthly  Concert.     India.     Dan.  vii.  14. 

"       17.  Seed  Time.     Ec.  xi.  6;  Ps.  cxxvi.  6. 

"      24.  Psalm  xxxiv. 

May      1.  Temperance.     Eph.  v.  18;  Ps.  xciv.  20.  I 

"         8.  Monthly  Concert.     Siam  and  Laos.     Rom.  x.  14,  15. 

"       15.  The  Believer's  Relation  to  Christ.     John  xv.  1-8. 

"      22.  Personal  Religion.     Ps.  xxvii.  8;  Ps.  xvii.  4-9;  L  Cor,  ix. 
27;  Ps.  xxxix.  1. 

,**      29.  Family  Religion.     Gen.  xviii.  19 ;  Josh.  xxiv.  15. 


Prayer- Meeting  Addresses,  549 

June  5.  Monthly  Concert.     Africa.     Ps.  Ixviii.  31. 

"  12.  Christ's  Love  for  His  Church.    John  x.  11;  Eph.  v.  25,  26; 
Eph.  iv.  11-13. 

"  19.  Gospel  Manna.     Ex.  xvi.  15;  John  vi.  48;  Ps.  cxix.  103. 

"  26.  Under  the  Juniper  Tree.     I.  Kings  xix.  4. 

July  3.  Christian  Patriotism.     I.  Sam.  xii.  20-25. 

"  10.  Monthly  Concert.     N.  American  Indians.     I.  Cor.  ix.  16-23. 

"  17.  How  to  keep  the  Sabbath.     Ex.  xx.  8-11. 

"  24.  My  Duty  to  the  Prayer-Meeting.     Heb.  x.  25;  Mai.  iil  16. 

"  31.  ThePromisesattendingthe  Word.  Isa.lv.  10;  L  Pet.  1.18-25. 

Aug.  7.  Psalm  xxvii. 

"  14.  Monthly  Concert.     South  America.    Prov.  xiv.  34. 

"  21.  Planning  for  Business.     Jas.  iv.  13 ;  Luke  xii.  18. 

"  28.  The  Trials  of  Faith.     Gen.  xxii.  1 ;  Matt.  xv.  21. 

Sept.  4.  Monthly  Concert.     Japan.     John  iv.  9,  10. 

"  11.  Advantages  of  Christian  Society.     Acts  xxviii.  16;  L  Thesa, 
iii.  1 ;  John  xi.  5. 

"  18.  Confession  of  Sin.     Hos.  v.  15;  Ps.  11.  3. 

*'  25.  Helps  and  Hinderances  to  Spiritual  Prosperity.     Prov.  xxz. 
7-9;  Luke  xii.  13-21. 

Oct.  2.  The  Earth  bringeth  forth  Fruit.     Mark  iv.  28. 

"  9.  Monthly  Concert.     Persia.     Matt.  ii.  2. 

"  16.  The  Danger  of  Neglecting  the  Gospel.     Heb.  11.  3. 

"  23.  The  Connection  of  Peace  with  Faith.     Rom.  v.  1. 

"  30.  Christ's  Death  for  Sin.     Isa.  liii.;  Eom.  v.  8. 

Nov.  6.  Monthly  Concert.     Papal  Europe.     Eom.  1.  15. 

"  13.  The  Bible  Doctrine  of  Conscience.     Jer.  vi.  15;  I.  Tim.  iv. 
2;  Heb.  ix.  14;  Acts  xxiii.  1. 

"  20.  Visiting  the  Sick  and  Helping  the  Destitute.    Jas.  1.  27. 

"  27.  Eeasons  for  Thankfulness.     Eph.  v.  20. 

Dec.  4.  Monthly  Concert.     Syria.     Acts  xiii.  44-49. 

"  11.  Honor  God  with  thy  Substance.     Prov.  iii.  9. 

"  18.  Patience  under  Discouragements.  Eev.  ii.  3-7;  Acts  xxvii.  33. 

"  25.  Design  of  the  Savior's  Coming.     Matt.  i.  21. 

3.  General  character  of  a  prayer-meeting  address. 

It  should  be  brief.  The  devotions  which  follow  the  open- 
ing remarks  should  occupy  most  of  the  time,  and  constitute 
the  principal  portion  of  the  worship.  Unless  the  address 
assumes  the  form  of  a  prayer-meeting  lecture  (which,  in 


550  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

this  day  of  excessive  pulpit  instruction,  ought  to  be  an  ob- 
Bolete  necessity),  or  a  monthly  missionary  concert,  where 
information  from  foreign  fields  is  often  added,  the  intro- 
ductory remarks  should  rarely  exceed  ten  minutes, — oftener 
less  than  more.  Long  exhortations  and  formal  addresses, 
are  an  abomination,  and  should  be  forever  banished  from 
the  prayer-meeting.  Where  so  many  are  to  speak  and  pray 
in  an  hour's  time,  the  words  must  be  few  and  fall  of  mean- 
ing. Brevity  will  require  condensation,  point,  and  purpose, 
and  must  make  up  in  quality  what  it  lacks  in  quantity. 
The  time  being  limited,  the  subject  with  which  we  open 
the  services,  except  in  case  of  exposition,  should  not  be 
treated  analytically.  One  idea,  or  one  view  of  a  topic,  is 
all  that  can  be  expected  in  a  discourse  of  a  few  minutes. 
A  single  thought,  explained,  amplified,  illustrated,  and 
pressed  upon  the  attention  of  the  hearers,  will  give  more 
unity  and  fervency  of  feeling  to  a  meeting  than  a  division 
or  composition  of  ideas. 

It  should  be  very  'plain  in  matter  and  manner,  so  that 
any  child  present  could  be  interested  and  benefited.  Os- 
tentation of  manner,  or  display  of  rhetoric,  acts  as  a  re- 
straint upon  the  freedom  of  voluntary  participation  in  the 
subsequent  exercises  of  the  hour,  and  chills  the  spirit  of 
devotion.  An  unassuming,  humble  manner,  breathing  a 
fervent,  congenial,  and  God-like  spirit,  will  make  the 
services  appear  more  like  family  worship  on  a  large  scale, 
and  make  everybody  feel  free,  as  in  his  own  home. 

In  it  all,  there  should  be  genuine  fervency.  Let  the 
leader  so  ponder  his  subject  and  arouse  his  convictions 
upon  it,  that  what  he  has  to  say  at  the  opening  of  the 
services  shall  come  from  the  heart,  in  earnest,  telling  words. 
It  is  no  easy  matter  to  make  the  first  address,  and  break 
the  ice  of  formality,  at  the  commencement  of  religious 
worship.    Any  one  can  say  an  earnest  word  when  the  de- 


Pulpit  Addresses.  551 

votions  are  at  white-heat;  but  "blessed  is  the  man  who 
dares  to  take  hold  of  the  cold  end  of  a  prayer-meeting," 
and  quicken  it  into  new  life  with  the  life-giving  touch 
of  a  warm  spirit. 

§   m.      PULPIT   ADDRESSES. 

Pulpit  addresses  are  not  sermons,  but  a  related  species 
of  eloquence,  adapted  to  the  sanctuary,  and  delivered  by 
pastors,  lay  preachers,  or  prospective  ministers,  as  a  sup- 
plement to,  or  substitute  for,  the  regular  sermon.  They 
are  called  exhortations,  lay  sermons,  and  Bible-readings. 
These  forms  of  pulpit  address  will  be  separately  discussed. 

I.     Exhortation. 

Exhortation,  from  exhortari,  to  encourage,  to  stimulate, 
to  excite,  to  admonish,  has  reference  to  special  hortatory 
address  in  public.  It  consists  in  "  the  act  of  laying  such 
motives  before  a  person  as  may  excite  him  to  the  perform- 
ance of  any  duty.  It  difl'ers  only  from  suasion  in  that  the 
latter  principally  endeavors  to  convince  the  understanding, 
and  the  former  to  work  on  the  aft'ections."  ^ 

The  custom  which  formerly  prevailed  of  one  minister 
following  the  sermon  of  another  with  a  brief  exhortation, 
and  which  continues  to  be  practiced  at  some  camp-meet- 
ings, is  now  generally  considered  a  useless  expedient.  But 
there  are  a  few  circumstances  under  which  a  sermon  may 
be  effectually  supplemented  by  a  stirring  exhortation: 
(1.)  "When  the  sermon  has  been  almost  exclusively  doc- 
trinal; or  failed  to  apply  and  impress  the  truth  by  an 
earnest  appeal.  (2.)  When  a  stranger  has  preached  very 
important  truths,  but,  for  want  of  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  the  congregation  addressed,  could  not  adapt  his 
conclusion  or  application  to  the  hearers,  the  pastor  in 
charge  may  take  the  liberty  to  add  a  few  words  of  earnest 

z  Buck's  Theological  Dictionary. 


552  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

exhortation,  bringing  the  truth  home  to  the  hearts  of  his 
people.  (3.)  When  the  congregation  is  composed  of  an 
almost  equal  number  of  German  and  English  speaking 
people  who  can  not  understand  both  languages,  as  is  often 
the  case  in  our  country,  an  English  sermon  may  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  German  exhortation,  and  the  reverse. 

But  by  exhortation  we  have  more  special  reference  to 
that  species  of  hortatory  religious  address  which  often 
takes  the  place  of  a  sermon,  and  in  which  appeal,  entreaty, 
or  consolation  enter  as  principal  constituent  elements. 
This  form  of  address  was  often  used  by  the  prophets  and 
apostles  in  the  ancient  church,^  and  should  not  be  ignored 
in  our  day. 

Preachers,  and  even  laymen,  should  diligently  cultivate 
the  art  of  exhortation  as  a  means  of  increased  usefulness 
in  revivals,  camp-meetings,  prayer-meetings,  and  all  relig- 
ious assemblies  for  the  promotion  of  piety  and  the  conver- 
sion of  sinners.  A  ready  skill  in  arousing  the  feelings  and 
stirring  the  hearts  in  a  powerful  exhortation  whenever  a 
religious  occasion  afibrds  a  suitable  opportunity  for  the 
exercise  of  such  a  talent,  is  a  gift  to  be  earnestly  coveted 
by  every  Christian  worker,  and  can  be  made  an  agency  of 
great  good. 

"  "While  the  inherent  right  of  thus  laboring  to  promote 
the  cause  of  God  is  generally  conceded  to  Christian  lay- 
men, it  is  the  custom  of  some  churches  to  make  official 
appointment  of  exhorters  as  a  primary  grade  of  religious 
teachers,  from  which,  after  due  trial,  they  advance  to  the 
more  responsible  office  of  preachers.  This  custom  de- 
serves commendation,  since  no  more  fitting  elementary 
practice  can  be  devised  for  young  men  contemplating  the 
ministry   than   that  prescribed   by    the  Apostle   Paul  to 

X  See  Luke  iii.  18;  Acts  ii.  40,  xiv.  21,  22,  zv.  32;  also,  as  oommauds,  I.  Tim.  iv.  IS, 
Ti.  2;  II.  Tim.  iv.  2;  Tit.  ii.  15;  Heb.  iii.  13. 


Pulpit  Addresses.  553 

Timothy:  'Give  attention  to  reading,  to  exhortation,  to 
doctrine.'  "  ^ 

An  exhortation  should  not  admit  anything  argumenta- 
tive, dogmatic,  or  learned,  but  should  consist  of  discourse 
upon  familiar  subjects,  and  self-evident  truths,  with  the 
main  object  of  enforcing  plain,  practical  lessons,  and  of  urg- 
ing Christian  duties.  The  preacher  explains  subjects  and 
instructs  the  people;  but  the  exhorter  beseeches  men  to 
obey  the  truth,  and  insists  on  their  practicing  what  they 
already  know  and  believe.  He  takes  a  practical  view  of 
everything,  assuming  that  they  understand  the  theoretical. 
Hence,  he  does  not  select  a  text,  or  confine  himself  strictly 
to  one  theme,  but  rather  to  one  object.  No  barrister,  in 
pleading  an  important  case  before  a  jury,  manifests  such 
concentration  of  eflbrt  upon  winning  the  object  of  his 
suit  as  does  a  true  exhorter  in  accomplishing  the  very 
thing  which  he  urges  upon  men's  attention.  This  does 
not  imply  that  his  ideas  may  be  rambling  and  incoherent, 
but  that,  if  the  consideration  of  divers  subjects  and  script- 
ure passages  will  help  to  produce  the  desired  effect^  he  will 
rather  disregard  rhetorical  unity  than  fail  in  securing  the 
contemplated  effect. 

The  exhorter  should  be  a  man  of  prayer  and  faith, 
deeply  interested  in  the  progress  of  the  church,  and  look- 
ing for  immediate  results  as  the  fruits  of  his  efforts. 

II.    Lay  Preaching. 

The  duty  of  preaching  is  not  confined  to  the  clergy,  but 
is  enjoined  upon  the  church  generally,  and  upon  its  mem- 
bers particularly.  In  one  sense,  every  Christian  who  lets 
his  "  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see  his  good 
works,"  who  "bears  much  fruit,"  or  who  in  any  informal 
way  confesses  Christ  before  men,  is  virtually  preaching  the 
gospel  to  the  world;  but  there  are  many  laymen  of  "ability 

I  Kidder's  Somileiics,  p.  lOG. 


554  '^^^^  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

which  God  giveth  "  them,  who  can  and  ought  to  proclaim 
the  message  of  salvation  in  a  more  public  way,  as  they 
may  have  opportunity. 

The  difierence  between  a  pastor  and  a  lay  preacher  lies 
only  in  their  official  capacity.  The  former  is  the  embas- 
sador of  God,  set  apart  by  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  author- 
ity of  the  church  to  the  special  work  of  the  ministry,  and 
hence  becomes  the  responsible  and  commissioned  repre- 
sentative of  His  kingdom.  The  lay  preacher,  without 
formal  credentials,  except  the  evidence  of  vital  godliness 
and  special  gifts,  preaches  here  and  there,  whenever  his 
assistance  is  needed  in  any  kind  of  evangelistic  work. 

Lay  preaching  is  not  a  modern  innovation,  but  largely 
prevailed  in  the  primitive  church;  for  many  unordained 
disciples  who  were  scattered  from  Jerusalem  by  persecu- 
tion "  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word."  (See,  also, 
Acts  xi.  19,  20.)  Christ  sent  forth  seventy  lay  disciples 
"  two  and  two  before  his  face  into  every  city  and  place 
whither  he  himself  would  come."  For  the  same  purpose, 
Paul,  immediately  after  his  conversion  and  long  before  his 
ordination,  "straightway  preached  Christ  in  the  syna- 
gogues." It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  the  word  xrjpuaaw, 
as  expressing  the  act  of  preaching,  usually  has  reference 
to  the  ordained  apostles,^  in  distinction  from  euajjeXc^o/acu, 
which  implies  the  proclaiming  of  good  news  by  any  of 
the  evangelistic  disciples.  Thus  we  learn  that  the  office 
of  preaching  was  not  committed  exclusively  to  presbyters 
and  bishops,  but,  as  Neander  says,  that  all  Christians  had 
originally  the  right  of  proclaiming  the  gospel  in  the  public 
assemblies.  So  great  was  the  demand  for  telling  the  good 
news  that  the  disciples  (not  apostles)  went  everywhere 
preaching  the  gospel. 

This  common  right  was  not  questioned  until  the  age  of 

t  See  Mark  iii.  U;  Acts  z.  42;  I.  Tim.  ii.  7. 


Pulpit  Addresses.  555 

Tertullian;  and  even  from  that  time  to  the  Reformation  it 
was  maintained.  Origen  was  a  lay  preacher.  In  the  so- 
called  "Apostolical  Constitutions,"  representing  the  prac- 
tice of  the  church  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries,  we 
find  the  law  that  "  if  any  man,  though  a  layman,  is  skill- 
ful in  expounding  doctrine,  and  of  venerable  manners,  he 
may  be  allowed  to  teach."  In  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth 
century  a  preaching  order  of  monks,  especially  the  Fran- 
ciscans and  Dominicans,  were,  in  an  ecclesiastical  point  of 
view,  laymen.  However,  a  formal  organization  of  lay 
preachers  as  a  system  was  not  recognized  as  a  branch 
of  church-eflbrt  until  the  time  of  John  Wesley,  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  To-day,  lay  preaching  is  not  only 
returning  to  the  primitive  Christian  practice,  but  becom- 
ing a  recognized  element  of  power  in  the  evangelical 
work  of  the  church. 

"With  our  present  vast  Sunday-school  enterprise.  Chris- 
tian associations,  and  missionary  work,  there  is  a  special 
demand  for  lay  evangelization;  for  our  regularly  ordained 
ministry  is  not  sufficient  to  meet  all  the  wants  of  the 
world.  Numerous  revival-efibrts  become  too  burdensome 
a  task  to  be  left  exclusively  to  our  ministers,  and  need  a 
hundred  more  Moodys  to  hold  up  the  arms,  as  well  as  lead 
the  van,  of  our  revival  preachers. 

We  may  briefly  consider  a  few  objections  to  lay  preaching. 

1.  It  is  objected  by  some  that  preaching  by  the  laity 
will  antagonize  the  regular  ministry. 

We  see  no  reason  for  confliction  between  two  different 
orders  of  preachers  proclaiming  the  same  truth,  but  many 
reasons  for  mutual  co-operation.  There  no  doubt  exists 
an  opportunity  for  antagonism;  but  so  far  from  abusing  a 
useful  agency,  our  best  lay  evangelists  work  in  harmony 
with  the  pastors;  and  most  pastors,  in  turn,  encourage  the 
labors  of  lay  evangelists  by  their  presence,  sympathy,  and 


556  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

aid;  and  thus  they  acknowledge  each  other  as  co-laborera 
in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

2.  It  is,  again,  objected  that  the  popularity  of  success- 
ful lay  preachers  may  tempt  into  its  ranks  many  who  are 
ignorant,  and  otherwise  unfit  for  the  work.  It  is  predicted 
by  some  one  that  we  will  soon  have  a  multitude  of  preach- 
ing laymen  ""vyho  will  have  more  Bible  ignorance  than 
Bible  knowledge,  more  self-confidence  than  wisdom,  more 
conceit  than  consecration,  and  who  will  catch  up  the  oddi- 
ties of  the  prominent  lay  preachers,  under  the  mistaken 
idea  that  their  success  lies  there." 

This  objection  is  well  attested  by  facts;  for  many  who 
are  mentally  and  morally  unqualified  have  been  mere  imi- 
tators, and  seekers  of  vainglory.  But  the  same  complaint 
might  also  be  made  against  an  ordained  ministry,  which, 
in  all  probability,  has  more  unworthy  representatives  who 
have  been  led  into  its  ranks  under  the  vain  hope  of  gain- 
ing the  fame  which  great  pulpit  orators  have  achieved, 
than  have  ever  been  allured  into  the  lay  ministry  by  simi- 
lar motives.  Its  tendencies  for  good  overbalance  its  tend- 
encies for  evil. 

3.  It  is  also  feared  by  some  that  the  novelty  and  excite- 
ment usually  attending  evangelistic  eflbrts  will  detract 
from  the  interest  of  the  ordinary  and  more  substantial 
means  of  grace. 

A  right  view  of  the  relations  existing  between  special 
evangelistic  tides  of  revival  and  the  regular  institutions  of 
the  church,  will  remove  such  a  fear.  The  former  are  a 
kind  of  invasion  upon  the  world  for  the  ingathering  and 
conversion  of  the  churchless  masses;  the  latter  are  a  school 
for  the  nurture  and  improvement  of  Christian  graces. 
Now  such  periodic  movements  for  the  recruiting  of  church- 
force,  instead  of  diminishing,  are  nearly  always  sure  of 
increasing,  the  interest  in  the  regular  means  of  grace.    The 


Pulpit  Addresses.  557 

truth  in  tlie  case  is,  that  they  give  an  impetus  to  the  exer- 
cise of  every  Christian  duty. 

The  sermons  of  lay  preachers,  though  often  formed 
after  the  usual  models,  generally  consist  of  Bible-readings, 
which  will  be  the  concluding  topic  of  our  present  treatise. 

III.    Bible-Readings. 

During  the  last  decade,  a  new  impulse  has  been  given, 
among  Christian  people,  to  the  reading  and  study  of  God's 
Word,  not  only  extending  the  range  and  depth  of  investi- 
gation of  the  Scriptures,  but  also  making  the  Bible  more 
prominent  and  effective  in  all  kinds  of  pulpit  discourse. 

Although  Mr.  Morehouse,  the  English  evangelist,  de- 
serves the  credit  of  first  introducing  Bible-readings  into 
our  country,  yet  the  leading  evangelists  of  the  present 
period,  Moody,  Whittle,  Needham,  and  Brookes,  are  to  be 
praised  for  what  they  have  done  in  enthroning  the  Word 
of  God  in  the  pulpit.  They  have  also  brought  out  new 
ideas  of  practical  utility;  for,  while  they  have  brought  Bible 
doctrine  and  human  experience  face  to  face  with  each  other, 
they  have  uttered  things  which  no  one  felt  until  he  learned 
how  to  hold  his  heart  before  the  mirror  of  divine  truth. 

But  this  method  of  pulpit  address  is  not  altogether 
new,  for  Christ  and  his  apostles  used  something  like  it. 
"And  he  preached  (iMhe)  the  word  unto  them."  (Mark 
ii.  2.)  "  And  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he 
expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  con- 
cerning himself."  (Luke  xxiv.  27.)  This  was  virtually  a 
Bible-reading.  Paul,  likewise,  expounded  the  truth  con- 
cerning Jesus  out  of  the  law  and  the  prophets  (Acts  xxviii. 
23),  thus  conducting  his  auditors  from  place  to  place  in  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  as  he  explained  his  theme  to  them. 

Bible-reading  is  a  modified  form  of  textual  preaching. 
Instead  of  choosing  a  text  as  a  theme,  and  dividing  it  into 
distinct  heads,  it  illustrates  a  subject  by  using  relevant 


55^  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

texts  as  its  heads.  It  is  a  kind  of  expository  discourse, 
but  differs  from  it  by  expounding  subjects  scripturally ^ 
rather  than  texts  topically.  It  leads  the  people  over  a  wide 
tract  of  scripture,  and  gives  a  many-sided  view  of  a  subject 
from  a  biblical  stand-point.  It  selects  the  most  vital  topics 
of  doctrine  and  experience,  carefully  collates  all  the  most 
essential  scripture-passages  relevant  to  the  subject,  and 
presents  them  under  properly-arranged  divisions,  as  the 
sum  and  substance  of  God's  teaching  upon  a  given  subject. 
The  variety  of  modes  in  which  this  is  done  may  best  be 
explained  by  a  few  examples  of  outline  plans  of  Bible- 
readings. 

1.  The  divisions  may  be  few  and  illustrative. 
Subject. —  The  Atonement. 

(1.)     The  Atonement  in  type.     Ex.  xii.  1-31 
(2.)     The  Atonement  in  Psalms.     Ps.  xxii. 
(3.)     The  Atonement  in  prophecy.     Isa.  liii. 
(4.)     The   Atonement   in    its    historical    accomplish- 
ment.    John  xix. 
(5.)     Doctrinal  summary.     Heb.  ix. 
Or,  Subject. — From  Suffering  to  Glory. 
Jesus.     Heb.  xii.  2;  I.  Peter  i.  21-24. 
Paul     Rom.  viii.  18;  II.  Cor.  iv.  17,  18. 
Feter.     I.  Peter  iv.  12-14. 
All.    Rev.  vii.  9-17.^ 

2.  A  subject  may  be  treated  emblematically. 
Subject.— T^Ae  Word  of  God. 

(1.)     A  Lamp,  Lantern,  Light.     Ps.  cxix.  105;  Prov. 

vi.  23. 
(2.)     A  Fire.     Jer.  xxiii.  29. 
(3.)     A  Hammer.     Jer.  xxiii.  29. 
(4.)     A  Sharp  Sword.     Eph.  vi.  17;  Heb.  iv.  12. 
(5.)     A  Gift.     James  i.  21. 

X  Selected. 


Pulpit  Addresses.  559 

(6.)     A  Mirror.     James  i.  23. 
(7.)     Pure  Milk.     I.  Peter  ii.  2. 
(8.)     The  Food  of  the  Soul.     Jer.  xv.  16.^ 
S.     A  subject  may  be  treated  doctriually. 
Subject. — Regeneration. 

(1.)     Its  Definition.     II.  Cor.  v.  17;  Rom.  vi.  4;  Eph. 

ii.  1-5;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26;  Eph.  iv.  24. 
(2.)     Its  l^ecessity.     John  iii.  3-6;    Rom.  viii.  7,  8; 

Matt,  xviii.  3. 
(3.)     Its  Author.     John  1.13;  I.  Peter  i.  3;  I.  John 

ii.  29;  John  iii.  6;  Titus  iii.  5. 
(4.)     Its  Means.     James  i.  18;  I.  Peter  i.  23;  I.  Cor. 

iv.  15;  Ps.  cxix.  59;  John  vi.  45. 
(5.)     Its  Evidences.     I.  John  v.  1,  ii.  29,   iv.  7;   II. 

Cor.  V.  17. 
(6.)     Its  Fruits.     Eph.  iv.  24;  Rom.  viii.  29;  Col.  iii. 

10;  I.  John  v.  4;  Rom.  vii.  22. 
(7.)     Its  Blessedness.     Rom.  iv.  6-8,  v.  1-3,  viii.  16, 

17;  II.  Cor.  ix.  8;  Jude  xxiv." 
4.     A  subject  may  be  treated  practically. 
■Subject. —  What  a  'Prayer -meeting  should  be. 

(1.)     Regular  and  punctual  attendance.     Heb.  x.  25. 

(2.)     Bring  others.     Num.  x.  29. 

(3.)     Come  for  an  object.     John  xii.  21. 

(4.)     Continue  in  prayer.     Acts  i.  4,  14. 

(5.)     Avoid   criticism.      Ps.  cxxxiii.  1;   Rom.  xii.  10; 

John  xvii.  23. 
(6.)     Participate  heartily  and  promptly  in  the  exer- 
cises.    Col.  iii.  16;  II.  Cor.  i.  11;  Heb.  iv.  16. 
(7.)     Let  all  the  exercises  be  brief.     Eccl.  v.  2. 
(8.)     Keep  in  mind  that  we  speak  and  sing  before  God. 

II.  Cor.  xii.  19. 


z  Selected. 

8  J.  H.  Vincent,  D.  D. 


560  The  Preacher  a?td  His  Ser7no7i, 

(9.)     Christian   testimony.      Ps.   xl.   10,    li.  15,   Ixiii. 

3-5,  cxix.  171, 172;  Isa.  xliii.  10;  Mai.  iii.  16, 

17;  Heb.  iii.  18;  Matt.  x.  32,  83;  John  xii.  42; 

I.  Cor.  i.  5;   II.  Cor.  viii.  7;  Rom.  x.  9,  10.' 

5.     A  subject  may  be  treated  expositorily,  by  scripture 

illustrations. 

Subject. —  The  Twenty-third  Psalm. 

(1.)  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd.  Isa.  xl.  11;  John  x. 
11-14. 

(2.)  I  shall  not  want.  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  11,  xxxiii.  18, 19, 
xxxiv.  22,  xxxvii.  18,  19. 

(3.)  He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures 
—  in  pastures  of  tender  grass.  He  leadeth 
me  beside  the  still  waters  —  waters  of  quiet- 
ness—  a  gentle  Shepherd  still. 

(4.)     He  restoreth  my  soul.    Ruth  iv.  15;  Isa.  Iviii.  12. 

(5.)  He  leadeth  me  in  the  paths  of  righteousness. 
Isa.  xlviii.  17;  John  x.  13.  Sing:  "He  lead- 
eth me." 

(6.)  For  his  name's  sake.  I.  Sam.  xii.  22;  Ps.  cvi.  8; 
I.  John  ii.  12;  Ps.  Ixxii.  17-19. 

(7.)  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  thou 
art  with  me.  Isa.  xliii.  12;  Acts  xxvii.  20-25; 
Dan.  iii.  25-27. 

(8.)  Thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me.  Ex, 
xvii.  5,  6;  Micah  vii.  14. 

(9.)     Thou  preparest,  etc.     Ps.  Ixxviii.  25-28;  Luke 
xxii.  29,30;  Rev.  vii.  17. 
(10.)     Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil.     Ps.  xlv.  7, 

Ixxxix.  20,  xcii.  10,  xxviii.  8. 
(11.)     My  cup  runneth  over.     Ps.  xxxi.  19,  xxxiv.  6-8, 
xlv.   18-15,  Ixxxix.  1,  xcvii.  10-12,  ciii.  1-5. 

I  Rev.  W.  F.  Crivfta. 


Pulpii  Addresses^  56 1 

(12.)     Surely,  goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all 
the  days  of  my  life.  Ps.  c.  5,  ciii.  17;  I.  Chroru 
xvi.  34;  Ps.  cvi.  1. 
(13.)     And  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  for- 
ever.    Ps.  Ixxxiv.  10,  xxvii.  4,  cxvi.  16-19.^ 
6.     A  word  may  be  adopted  as  the  basis  of  division. 
Subject.— r/ie  ''All  Things"  of  the  Bible. 
(1.)     Are  of  God,  as  to  their  source.    II.  Cor.  v.  18. 
(2.)     For  the  sake  of  believers,  as  to  their  object.  IL 

Cor.  iv.  15. 
(3.)     Work  together  for  good,  as  to  their  purpose, 

Rom.  viii.  28. 
(4.)     Christ  head  over  the  church,  as  to  their  arrange- 

merit.     Eph.  i.  22. 
(5.)     The  believer  may  know;  hence  his  privilege.     I. 

John  ii.  20. 
(6.)     The  believer  can  do;  hence  his  power.  Phil.  iv.  13. 
(7.)     Granted  in  answer  to  prayer;  hence  his  depend- 
ence,—  Matt.  xxi.  22;  and  faith, — Mark  ix.  23. 
(8.)     Are  to  be  proved:  hence  his  diligence.    I.  Thess. 

V.  21. 
(9.)     Thanks  to  be   given   for;    hence  his  gratitude, 
Eph.  V.  20. 
(10.)     Their  end  at  hand;    hence  his  watchfulness.    I. 

Peter  iv.  7. 
(11.)     To  be  inherited  by  the  believer;  hence  his  hope. 
Rev.  xxi.  7. 
"  All  thing>s  "  occm^s  two  hiindi-ed  and  twenty-one  times 
m  the  Bible.2 

7.     Scripture  phrases  or  sentences  may  be  chosen  as  the 
heads  of  divisions. 

Subject. —  The  Three  Commands  of  Jesus  with  regard  to 
Himself 

I  Selected. 

a  Selected. 

36 


562  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

(1.)     « Come  unto  me."     Matt.  xi.  28-30;   John  vii. 

37,  xiv.  6,  vi.  37;  Luke  xiv.  17,  23;  John  xi. 

28;     Rev.  xxii.  17. 
(2.)     "Follow  me."    Matt.  iv.  19,  viii.  22,  ix.  9;  Mark 

ii.  14;  John  i.  43,  xxi.  19;  Matt.  xvi.  24,  xix. 

21;  John  x.  27,  x.  5,  xii.  26;  Rev.  xiv.  4. 
(3.)     "  Abide  in  me."     Luke  xxiv.  29;  John  xv.  4-10; 

L  John  ii.  24;  IL  Tim.  ii.  13.^ 
From  the  above  examples,  we  see  that  a  Bible-reading 
exercise  is  not  a  compilation  of  miscellaneous  texts  brought 
together  without  thoughtful  care  and  method,  but  consists 
of  a  well-matured  plan  in  collecting  the  passages  most 
pertinent  to  the  particular  view  of  the  subject  which  we 
wish  to  present.  The  preparation  of  a  good  Bible-reading 
service  will  require  as  much  study  as,  if  not  more  than, 
the  preparation  of  a  sermon.  "  There  is  much  that  passes 
for  Bible-reading,  that  is  dry  and  unprofitable  enough.  A 
good  one  can  not  be  hastily  prepared  by  running  down  a 
column  of  Cruden's  Concordance.  The  enthusiasm  that 
has  been  aroused  in  some  parts  of  the  country  by  the  means 
of  Bible-readings  has  led  many  laymen,  and  ministers  too, 
to  a  hasty  conclusion  that  all  that  is  necessary  to  make  a 
Bible-reading  successful  is  to  string  together  a  lot  of  texts 
in  which  the  same  English  Bible-word  occurs,  have  them 
read  successively  by  the  people,  and  linked  together  by 
extemporaneous  comment.  It  is  evident  that  this  kind  of 
work  must  be  not  only  heterogeneous,  but  often  mislead- 
ing as  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  Scriptures.  *  *  *  * 
For  example,  he  who  should  give  a  Bible-reading  on  the 
word  '  Light,'  knowing  no  distinction  and  making  none 
between  the  two  Greek  words  used  in  the  l!Tew  Testament 
to  designate  that  light,  would  not  only  fail  in  a  beautiful 
distinction,  but  in  the  true  scriptural  intent."' 

z  Selected. 

9  TiiMi  of  Btfreshing,  by  C.  L.  Thompson,  D.D.  p.  869. 


PtUpit  Addresses,  563 

To  assist  one  in  preparing  a  Bible-reading,  the  following 
Lelps  are  almost  indispensable:  A  Bagster's  wide-margin 
Bible  for  notes;  a  Bible  text-book,  giving  references  to 
ecripture-teachings  according  to  subjects;  a  concordance, 
giving  classification  of  scripture-texts  according  to  words  ; 
a  good  commentary;  Townsend's  "Chronological  Harmony 
of  the  Bible";  a  church-history;  a  history  of  Christian 
doctrine;  Inglis'  "Bible-text  Cyclopsedia";  Hitchcock's  or 
"West's  "  Analysis  of  the  Bible";  Locke's  "Commonplace 
Book  of  the  Holy  Bible";  "The  Englishman's  Hebrew 
and  Chaldee  Concordance  of  the  Old  Testament,"  or, 
"The  Hebraist's  Vade  Mecum" ;  and  "The  EngUshman's 
Greek  Concordance  of  the  Kew  Testament."  These  will 
place  the  texts  of  the  Bible  at  our  command  in  a  way  that 
will  greatly  facilitate  the  labor  of  preparing  a  Bible-read- 
ing exercise. 

Having  selected  a  live  subject,  the  steps  in  actual  prepa- 
ration are: 

1.  Selecting  a  sufficient  number  of  pertinent  texts, 
which  are  to  compose  the  web  and  woof  of  the  address. 
These  may  be  copied,  each  on  a  separate  slip  of  paper, 
with  the  book,  chapter,  and  verse  from  which  they  are 
taken. 

2.  Arrangement  under  appropriate  heads.  Passage  will 
be  compared  with  passage,  and  then  brought  under  proper 
classification.  If  several  texts  selected  happen  to  be  very 
similar  in  meaning,  the  most  important  is  taken,  and  the 
others  are  used  as  references,  without  reading  or  comment- 
ing on  them  before  the  congregation.  The  separate  slips 
can  be  pinned  upon  paper  under  their  proper  divisions, 
leaving  space  between  each  for  jotting  down  an  outline  of 
comment  and  ideas,  such  as  are  necessary  to  give  connection 
and  unity  to  the  discourse;  or,  if  the  texts  selected  be  not 
too  numerous,  the  slips  may  be  labeled  1,  2,  3,  etc.,  accord- 


564  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon. 

ing  to  the  order  in  which  they  are  to  be  used  in  the  service, 
and  placed  in  their  proper  places  in  a  hand  Bible,  from 
which  they  will  be  read  as  needed,  the  slips  also  serving  as 
book-marks  of  references. 

3.  A  thorough  review  of  the  preparation,  so  as  to  bring 
its  contents  into  perfect  command  for  delivery.  The  sub- 
ject must  engage  our  interest,  the  divisions  be  clearly  fixed 
in  the  mind,  the  texts  committed  to  memory,  and  the 
whole  subject  matter  be  at  our  tongue's  end. 

In  delivery,  two  methods  have  been  adopted: 

1.  The  speaker  does  all  the  scripture-reading  or  recit- 
ing himself,  only  asking  the  congregation  to  be  provided 
with  Bibles,  to  follow  the  references  as  they  occur  in  the 
reading.     This  method  is  best  adapted  to  large  audiences. 

2.  In  prayer-meetings,  or  small  congregations,  the  peo- 
ple sometimes  participate  in  the  exercises  by  reading  the 
references  in  concert;  or,  what  is  perhaps  better,  certain 
ones  who  are  good  and  prompt  readers  are  requested  to 
respond  when  a  text  is  called  for.  In  reference  to  this 
mode,  Major  "Whittle  says,  "  Use  slips  of  paper  in  giving 
out  the  references.  Have  them  prepared  before  you  go  to 
the  meeting,  and  ask  some  one  who  is  acquainted  with  the 
audience  to  distribute  them  to  good  readers  as  you  are 
singing  the  opening  hymn,  or  (this  is  far  better)  before 
you  commence  the  exercises.  It  is  not  safe  to  call  out 
references  and  let  them  be  taken  by  volunteers.  Some  will 
have  wrong  passages,  and  some  will  not  read  distinctly. 
*  «  *  *  Xt  is  better  for  the  leader,  also,  as  he  opens  the 
meeting,  to  distinctly  explain  what  he  expects  of  those  who 
have  received  slips,  and  to  request  them,  if  they  do  not 
intend  to  comply,  to  pass  the  slips  back.  After  calling 
for  a  reference  twice,  with  slight  intervals,  the  leader  had 
better  read  himself, — not  delaying  the  audience  for  those 
who  have  lost  the  place." 


Pulpit  Addresses.  565 

Among  the  advantages  of  tlie  Bible-reading  service  may 
be  mentioned: 

First.  The  cultivation,  among  the  people,  of  a  love  for 
Bible-study.  The  example  set  in  the  sanctuary,  in  a  more 
conscientious  and  faithful  adhering  to  scripture  truths,  will 
doubtless  be  imitated  in  the  homes  and  families  that  com- 
pose our  congregations. 

Second.  It  continually  furnishes  new  material  for  preach- 
ing. To  confine  our  careful  study  of  the  Scriptures  to  a 
few  choice  texts,  such  as  are  required  to  supply  the  de- 
mand for  topical  and  even  textual  preaching,  will  give  us 
only  a  limited  command  of  the  great,  hidden  wealth  of 
biblical  material;  while  the  more  general  research  required 
in  preparing  a  weekly  Bible-reading  will  open  up  new 
treasures  of  truth,  and  supply  suggestive  and  fresh  material 
for  new  sermons,  which  otherwise  would  have  remained 
undiscovered. 

Third.  It  promotes  the  conversational  style  of  preaching, 
which  is  always  acceptable  to  a  popular  audience.  The 
pseudo-oratorical,  or  "  spread-eagle  "  style  soon  becomes 
wearisome  to  sober-minded  hearers;  and  the  art  of  talking 
{}MXea))  the  gospel  is  daily  gaining  more  and  more  favor 
with  our  people.  Many  a  good  minister  who  has  failed  in  his 
aspirations  after  pulpit  oratory  may  be  a  successful  and 
useful  minister,  if  he  will  but  have  the  grace  to  descend  to 
his  own  level  of  ordinary  conversation,  devote  himself  to 
Bible-readings,  and  thus  be  a  simple  bearer  of  good  news, 
and  a  teacher  of  God's  thoughts  to  men. 

All  the  world  follows  Moody,  not  for  his  oratorical  gifts, 
but  for  the  simple  conversational  style  in  which  he  tells 
the  story  of  the  cross. 


566  The  Preacher  and  His  Sermon, 

CONCLUDrNG   REMARKS. 

For  the  attaiument  of  the  highest  results  in  the  minis- 
try, we  need  not  only  a  knowledge  of  the  formal  rules  of 
homiletics,  but  also  an  affecting  view  of  our  personal  obli- 
gation to  Christ  for  the  honor  conferred  upon  us  in  calling 
us  into  his  ministry,  a  deep  conviction  of  the  grave  respon- 
sibility of  our  high  vocation,  and  a  strong  and  ever-present 
sense  of  the  aid  and  inHuence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  give 
success  to  the  preached  word.  Upon  the  faithful  preacher 
heaven  drops  its  showers  of  blessings,  making  his  minis- 
try rich  in  enjoyments  to  himself,  and  in  good  to  others. 
The  true  preacher  envies  no  man's  fortune,  for  he  feela 
that,  on  earth,  nothing  pays  better  than  to  preach  the 
gospel  in  its  fullness.  If  the  reward  is  not  now,  in  silver 
and  gold,  it  will  come,  at  last,  in  crowns  of  immortality 
and  stars  of  unfading  glory. 


INDEX. 


Abstract  terms,  use  of,  423. 
Academic  sermons,  Broadus  on,  210 ; 

4G:},  4ii4. 
Accent,  intluence  of,  on  harmony, 

429. 
Accuracy  of  statement,  secret  of,  455. 
Action,  in  delivery,  490. 
Adams,  W.,  quoted,  396. 
Addison,  Joseph,  414. 

quoted,  491. 
Address,  extemporaneous,  449. 
Addresses,  miscellaneous,  540. 
..3i]schines,  377. 
..fli^schylus,  quoted,  159. 
Affectation,  in  the  pulpit,  502. 
A  fortiori  argument,  345. 
Agassiz,  35,  109. 
Aged,  sermons  to  the,  213. 
Agesilaus,  270. 
Alexander,  Archibald,  59,  86, 
Alexander,  J.  W.,  188. 

"Thoughts  on  Pi-eaching,"  73. 

quoted,  88,  113,  162,  218,  219,  425, 
473. 
Alleine,  Jos.,  240. 
AUiboue,  S.  A.,  quoted,  96. 
Alliteration,  428. 
Ambiguous  terms,  356. 
Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan,  125,  143, 

440. 
American  sermon,  the,  127. 
Ames,  Fisher,  396. 

quoted,  88. 
Amplitude,  415. 

Amusements,  popular,  must  some- 
times be  subject  of  preaching, 
209. 
Analogy,  refutation    by   means  of, 
353, 

of  faith,  173. 
Analysis  of  the  sermon,  303 
Angelo,  Michael,  460. 
Anglo-Saxon,  414,  429. 
Anniversary  sermons,  210. 


Announcement,  of  scripture-lesson, 

521. 

of  text,  505. 

of  divisions,  200. 
Announcements,  reading  of,  506. 
Anselm  343,  344. 
Apelles,  123,  487. 
Apodixis  Biblica,  342, 
Apologies,  314. 
Aposiopesis,  Broadus  on,  424. 
A  posteriori  argument,  344. 
Apostles,  the,  not  unlearned  men,  55, 

extemporaneous  preachers,  440. 
"Apostolical  Constitutions,"  quoted, 

555. 
Appeal,  376. 
Application,  371. 
Appropriation  of  material,  107. 
A  priori,  argument,  343. 

truth,  343. 
Aratus,  159o 
Archaeology,  136,  174, 
Archaisms,  415, 
Argument,  343, 

not  to  be  too  much  depended 
upon,  359. 
Argumentation,  relative  value  of  af- 
firmative and  negative,  351. 
Argumentum,  ad  hominem,  353,  359. 

ad  ignorantiam,  359. 

ad  popidum,  359. 

ad  rem,  359. 

ad  verecundiam,  359, 
Aristotle,  76,  154,  194,  220,  303,  343, 
392,  422. 

quoted,  182,  305,  350,  353. 
Arrangement  of  material,  329. 
Arthur,  William,  quoted,  405, 503. 
Articulation,  distinct,  indispensable, 

483. 
Artificiality,  in  reading  sermons,449. 

in  memoriter  preaching,  451, 

in  general  address,  478, 
Attention,  design  of  introduction  to 
secure,  307. 


567 


568 


Index. 


Augustine,  125, 149,  248,  283,  318,455. 

quoted,  267,  4Ls,  441. 

"X^e  Doctrina  Christiana,^^  71. 
Authority,  of  the  ycriptures,  342. 
Authors  ou  Biblical  exposition,  300. 

Backus,  Charles,  443. 

Bacon,  A.  M.,  "  Manual  of  Gesture," 

recomnicnded,  491. 

quoted,  494. 
Bacon,  Lord,  35,  58. 

quoted,  96,  4;S7. 
Bailej',  P.  J.,  quoted,  452. 
Bain,  Alex.,  77. 
Baker,  Daniel,  revival  preaching  of, 

253. 
Baldwin,  Thos.,  443. 
Ballads,  old  English,  526. 
Barbarisms,  415. 

Barnes,  Albert,  his  treatment  of  in- 
fidelity, 33. 

quoted,  412. 
Barrow,  Isaac,  preaching  of,  79. 

his  learning,  56. 

121,  127,  396. 
Basil,  125,  148. 
Bates,  56,  463. 
Baur,  28. 

Bautain,   M,,   "  Art  of    Extempore 
Speaking,"  72. 

quoted,  113. 
Baxter,  Richard,  86, 104,  127,  194,  396. 

quoted,  448. 
Beauty,  of  style,  426. 
Beddome,  quoted,  204. 
Bede,  Venerable,  154. 
Bedell,  G.  T.,  443. 
Beecher,  H.  W.,  preaching  of,  85. 

custom  of  selecting  a  text,  169, 

"  Yale  Lectures,"  quoted,  101, 192, 

referred  to,  75, 127, 169,  838, 443. 
quoted,  245,  339,  429,  478. 
Beecher,  L3anau,  131,  460. 

quoted,  188,  241,  252. 
Benediction,  the,  537. 
liengel,  182. 
Bersier,  57,  126. 
Bevan,  L.  D.,  265. 

Bible,  the,  its  inexhaustible  wealth, 

88. 

preacher  should  study  exeget- 

icall}',  88;    liistorically,  89; 

doctrinally,  90;  prayerfully, 

91. 

division  into  chapters  and  verses, 

288. 
authority  of,  342. 
model  of  style,  436. 
new  impulse,  at  present,  to  the 
study  of,  557. 


Bible-readings,  557. 

introduction  of,  557. 

definition  of,  557. 

examples  of,  558. 

preparation  of,   requires    niucb 

study,  562. 
helps  for  preparation  of,  563. 
process  of  preparation  of,  563. 
delivery  of,  two  methods,  564. 
advantages  of,  565. 
'•  Biblical  Repository,"  71. 

quoted,  396. 
"  BiblioVieca  Saaxi,"  76. 
cited,  396. 
quoted,  463. 
Biographical  and  historical  preach- 
ing, 219. 
Biographies,  Bible,  221. 

of  Christ,  89. 
Blackburn,  Dr.,  326,  443. 
Black  Hawk,  speech  of,  422. 
"  Blackwood's    Magazine,"   quoted, 

143. 
Blaikie,  W.  G.,  "  For  the  Work  of 
the  Ministry,"  74, 

quoted,  li9,  133,  138, 157,  286, 
292,  310,  329,  410,  417,  418, 
426,  442,  482,  498. 
cited,  191,  378,  464. 
Blair,  Hugh,  57,  315. 
quoted,  408,  449. 
Bombast,  432. 
Bossuet,  56,  80,  86,  126,  480. 
Bourdaloue,  preaching  of,  80,  81. 
56,59, 82, 126, 168, 182, 203, 451, 452. 
quoted,  313. 
Bowditch,  N.,  quoted,  104. 
Bowen,  Francis,  quoted,  357. 
Boyd,  J.  R.,  cited,  363. 
Brainerd,  David,  quoted,  240. 
Brevity,  in  the  introduction,  317. 

of 'st3'le,  417. 
Bridges,  Charles,  443. 
Bright,  John,  366. 
"  British   and   Foreign   Evangelical 

Review,"  76. 
British  sermon,  126. 
"British  Quarterly  Review,  "quoted,. 

444. 
Broadus,  J.  A.,  443. 

"  Preparation   and    Delivery   of 
Sermons,"  74. 
quoted,  102,  HO,  118,  119,  159, 
179,  197,  210,  219,  230,  275, 
292,  294,  306,  331,  336,  337, 
344,  345,  350,  354,  360,  367, 
402,  410,  414,  418,  424,  426, 
453,  470,  473,  486,  495,  527, 
628. 
cited,  163,  333,  348. 
"History  of  Preaching,"  76. 
quoted,  80. 
Brookes,  557. 


Index, 


569 


Brooks,  Phillips,  36,  75,  86,  127,  263. 
Brougham,  Lord,  366. 

quoted,  417. 
Bruce,  Robert,  57. 
Buck,  C,  quoted  551. 
Butfon,  363. 

quoted,  408. 
Banyan,  John,  quoted,  240. 

"Pilgrim's  Progress,"  97. 
Burgou,  quoted,  414. 
Burke,  Edmund,  365,  396,  460. 
Burnet,  Bishop,  104. 

quoted,  441. 
Burns,  Robert,  525. 
Burt,  N.  <;.,  quoted,  520. 
Bushnell,  Horace,  86,  405. 
Butler,  Bishop,  35,  94,  354. 
Byron,  111. 

C 
Call  to  the  ministry,  64. 
CVlvin,  John,  56. 

Campbell,  George,  "  Philosophy  of 
Rhetoric,"  77. 
quoted,  346. 
Campbei:,  John,  quoted,  325  422, 423, 

533. 
Candlish,  R.  S.,  203. 
Cannon,  J.  S.,  quoted,  319. 
Cant,  415. 

Cart  Wright,  Peter,  232. 
Cecil,  R.,  143. 

quoted,  279. 
Celsus,  30. 

Cervantes,  quoted,  92. 
Chalmers,  Thos.,  preaching  of,  81. 
35,  57,  101,  1U8,  127,  145,  338,  416, 
444,  447,  465. 
Chapters  and  verses,  division  of  Bi- 
ble into,  288. 
Character  of  the  speaker,  403. 
Charles  the    Second,  decree  of,  on 

reading  of  sermons,  442. 
Charnock,  S.,  194. 
Chatham,  Lord,  80,  396. 
Chauncy,  Dr.,  quoted,  251. 
Chesterfield,  Lord,  395. 
Children,  ttie,  250. 

preaching  to,  in  revivals,  250. 

sermons  to,  256. 

demand  of  our  times  in  i-egard 

tO;  257. 
reasons  Lox  preaching  to,  257. 
the  cominand,  257-259. 
fruitful  results  of  preachiiig  t  , 

259-261. 
securing  attendance  of,  at  public 

worship,  261,  262. 
qualifications  for  preaching  to, 

263. 
methods  of  preaching  to,  265. 
children's  church,  268. 
matter  for  sermons  to,  270. 


manner  of  preaching  to,  274. 
beuetits  resulting  from  j^reach- 

ing  to,  279. 
published  sermons  to,  2S1. 
Choir,  the,  its  proper  function  525, 
Christ,  a  preacher,  24. 

tlie  preacher's  theme,  25. 

the  subject  and  hero  of  the  Bible, 

26. 
how  to  preach,  27. 
the  Hock  npou  which  the  church 

is  built,  28. 
our  model,  62. 
biographies  of,  89. 
aa    extemporaneous    preacher, 
440,  453. 
Christianity,  renowned  thinkers  de- 
fending, 35. 
Christian  ministry,  its  nature,  40. 
a  ministry  of  "truth,  40. 
a  ministry  of  duty,  42. 
its  purpose,  43. 
Christlieb,  T.,  463. 

"Modern   Doubt  and  Christian 
Belief,"  cited,  163,348. 
Chrysostom,  preaching  of,  77. 

""Concerning  the  Priesthood,"  71. 
56,  125,  143,  149,  202,  282,  283,  338, 
392,  404,  440,  455. 
Church,  children's,  268. 
Church  histories,  92. 
"  Church  Review,"  quoted,  132. 
Cicero,  315, 365,  383,  396,  417,  480,  481, 
489. 
quoted,  187, 199,  305,  366,  413,  436, 

437,  496. 
cited,  196,  320. 
"■  De  Orator e,"  76. 
Clarke,  Adam,  quoted,  141. 
Clarke,  Samuel,  345. 
Classical  Education,  57. 
Classification  of  sermons,  178,  207. 
Claude,  56,  126,  194,  315. 

quoted,  379. 
Claudius,  quoted,  40. 
Cleanthus,  159. 
Clearness  in  style,  413. 
Clement,  56. 
Climax,  424. 

Coleridge,  S.  T.,  quoted,  413,  427. 
Common  sense,  67. 
Comparison,  340. 
Compass  of  voice,  482. 
Composite  method  of  preaching,  462. 
Composition,  of  the  sermon,  302. 
of  the  introduction,  320. 
of  the  discussion,  359. 
of  the  conclusion,  384. 
Concentration  in  the  conclusion,  368, 
Conciseness,  422. 
Concluding  remarks,  566. 
Concliisiiiu,  tbe,  of  the  sermon,  303, 
863. 


570 


Index, 


its  importance,  365. 
its  design,  3G7. 
material  for,  369. 
improper  material  for,  380. 
general  character  of,  3S1. 
suggestions  on  composition  of, 
384. 
•Concomitant  to  the  sermon,  511. 
devotional  exercises,  ol3. 
i-eading  of  scripture,  515. 
hymns,  523. 
public  prayer,  531. 
benediction,  537. 
miscellaneous  addresses,  540. 
platform  addresses,  541. 
prayer-meeting  addresses,  544. 
pulpit  addresses.  551. 
exhortation,  551. 
lay  preaching,  553. 
Bible-readings,  557. 
CJonduct  in  the  pulpit,  498. 

earnestness  of  manner,  498. 
self-possession,  500. 
witticism,  501. 
levity,  502. 
formality,  502. 
affectation,  502. 
propriety,  503. 
Cone,  S.  H.,  413. 
Conference,  addresses,  449,  543. 

sermons,  210. 
Congregational  singing,  the  ideal  of 

church  music,  525. 
Conscience,  appeal  to,  376. 
Construction,  energetic,  423. 

of  sentences,  ambiguity  in,  357. 
Contents,  table  of,  5. 
Contrast,  340. 

Controversy,  theological,  219. 
Controverted  passages,  297. 
Conversation,  careful  attention  to, 

433. 
Conversational  style,  409,  565. 
Conversion,  examples  of  early,  260. 
Converts,  sermons  to,  214. 
Conviction,  332,  341,  313. 
Cook,  Joseph,  94,  145. 

quoted,  237. 
Cookman,  Alfred,  quoted,  227. 
Copernicus,  35,  36J. 
Coppee,  II.,  quoted,  356. 
Coquerel,  57,  126,  451. 

quoted,  370,  434,  453. 
Corporeal  powers,  use  in  delivery, 

446. 
Countenance,  expression  of,  in  de- 
livery, 495. 
Cowley,  414. 
Cowper,  1$.  11.,  71. 
Cowper,  William,  quoted,  44, 46, 137, 

164,  503. 
Ooxe,  A.  C,  52a. 
Crafts,  W.  F.,  265,  272. 
quoted,  560. 


Criticism,  of  the  sermon,  final,  363. 

of  friends,  437. 
Crosby,  Howard,  75. 

quoted,  46,  48. 
Culture,  scholarly,  makes  humble, 
57. 

makes  ideas  clear,  58. 

demanded  by  the  times,  59. 
Cunningham,  quoted,  29. 
Curran,  481. 
Cuyler,  T.  L.,  127. 

quoted,  133,  166.  254  261, 420, 498. 
Cyprian,  56. 

Cyril,  of  Alexandria,  i25,  440. 
Cyrus,  463. 

I> 

Daily  life,  surroundings  of,  a  source 

of  homiletical  material,  100. 
Dale,  R.W.,  71,75. 

quoted,  77,  451. 
Dana,  J.  D.,  35. 
Dante,  99,  121. 

"  Divine  Comedy,"  98. 
Darwin,  Chas.,  32,  93. 
Dashiel,  Dr.,  443. 
D'Aubigne,  126. 
Davies,  Samuel,  86. 
Dawson,  J.  W.,  relation  of  Christian 

teachers  to  science,  31. 
Day,  II.  N.,  77. 

quoted,  321,  408,  358. 
Decorum,  502. 
Dedicatory  sermons,  210. 
Deduction,  349. 
Deems,  Chas.  F.,  127,  267. 

quoted,  518. 
Definition,  in  explanation,  334. 
Delicate  passages,  in  expository 

preaching,  297. 
Delivery,  439,  476. 

modes  of,  439. 

brief  history  of  modes,  439. 

extemporaneous,  449,  453,  568, 

memoriter,  440,  451,  462. 

reading.  441,  444,  464. 

fear  of  failure  in,  445,  452,  457. 

comiK)site,  402. 

practical     suggestions    and    ad- 
vice on,  462. 

mode  to   bo  adopted   by  begin- 
ner, 465. 

mode  to  be  adopted  by  others, 
467. 

how  to  prepare  for  immediate, 
470.     - 

see,  also,  elocution,  476. 
Delsarte,  496. 
Demosthenes,  50,  156,  365,  377,  396, 

403,  476,  481,  487. 
De  Kavignan,  451. 
Des(!artos,  314. 
Description,  336. 
Development  of  the  sermon,  323. 


Index. 


571 


Devotional  exercises,  513. 

nature  and  iinportauce  of,  513. 

reading  of  scripture,  515. 

hymns,  513,  523. 

public  prayer,  521. 

benediction,  537. 
Dlodorus  Siculus,  159. 
Directness  ia  preacliing,  245. 
Discussion,  tlie,  3o3,  323. 

definition  of,  3ii3. 

origination  of  material  of,  223. 

arrangement  of  material  of,  329. 

qualities  of,  330. 

explanation,  332. 

conviction,  341. 

refutation,  350. 

fallacies,  355. 

suggestions  on  the  composition 
of,  359. 
Disposition  of  material,  330. 
Divine  call  to  the  ministry,  64. 
Divinity,  definition  of,  41. 

importance  of,  41. 
Divisions  of  the  sermon,  186. 

definition  of,  186. 

reasons  for  use  of,  187. 

examples  of,  189. 

variety  of,  191. 

exliaustiveness  of,  192. 

number  of,  194. 

arrangement  of,  196, 

subdivisions,  198. 

transition,  198. 

should   thev   be   stated   before- 
hand? 200. 
Doane,  Bishop,  526. 
Doctrinal  sermons,  217. 
Doctrine,  Christian,  importance  of, 

217. 
Doddridge,  Philip,  56,  127,  265,  371. 

qnoied,  lii4,  240. 
Doolittle,  quoted,  411. 
Dow,  Lorenzo,  232. 
Draco,  258. 
Du  Bosc,  126. 
Du  Moulin,  126. 

Duplex  method  of  preaching,  266. 
Duryea,  Jos.,  75. 
Duty,  the  highest  good,  42. 

discharge    of,    leads    to   perfec- 
tion, 43. 
Dwight,  Timothy,  65,  86. 
Dvvight,  W.  T.,  443. 

e: 

Earnestness,  498. 
Eddy,  Dr.,  443. 
"Edinburgh  Review,"  76. 

quoted,  415. 
Education,  classical  and  theological, 
57. 

demanded  by  the  age,  59. 

preaching  on,  223. 


Edwards,  Jonathan,  57,  127,  252,  259, 
317,  374,  396,  444. 

character  of  his  preaching,  251. 

quoted,  207. 
Elocution,  476. 

nature  and  importance  of,  476. 

naturalness  in,  477. 

deficiency  in,  a    hinderance   ta 
success,  479. 

the  voice,  480. 

works  on  elocution,  486,  487. 

gesture,  489. 
Eloquence,  masterpieces  of,  86. 

pulpit,  389. 

prejudice  against,  392. 

sijurious,  393. 

what  it  is  not,  394. 

what  it  is,  395. 

origin  of,  397. 

how  10  produce,  399. 
Emerson,  R.  W.,  4o6. 

quoted,  111. 
Emmonds,  Dr.,  quoted,  459. 
Emmons,  N.,  86. 
i'^motions,  appeal  to,  376. 
Emphasis,  485,  519. 
Energy;  in  style,  419. 
English  language,  thorough  study 
of,  necessary,  434. 

works  on,  435. 
Epimenides,  159. 
lOpithets,  use  of,  359. 
Euphony,  428. 
Eusebius,  56,  231. 
Evans,  C,  338. 
Everett,  Edward,  535. 
Exaggeration,  419. 
Excitement,  true  and  false,  in  re- 
vivals, ~"n. 
Exegesis,  of  the  text,  170. 

a  process  of  explanation,  333. 
Exemplification,  340. 
lOxhaustiveuess  t  f  divisions,  192. 
Exhortation,  551. 

definition  of,  551. 

following  the  sermon,  551. 

substitute  for  the  sermon,  552. 

power  of,  should  be  cultivated. 
552. 

aims  at  immediate  and   pi'acti- 
cal  results,  553. 
Existence  of  God,  o^9-io?-i  argument 
for,  344. 

a  posteriori  argument  for,  345. 
Exordium,  306. 

Experience,  argument  from,  346. 
Experimental  preaching,  223. 
Explanation,  332. 

Exposition,  see  expository  sermons^ 
Expository  sernrions,  282. 

general  remarks  on,  282. 

advantages  of,  284. 

disadvantages  of,  285. 


572 


Index. 


management  of,  286. 

uiiiiv   of  slruciure  in,  essential, 
287. 

examples  of  outlines  of,  289. 

continuous  series  of,  292. 

preparatorv  study  of  section  or 
book,  292. 

planninf?  a  series,  293. 

preparation  of   each  sermon  in 
a  series,  293. 

difficult,   mysterious,   and  con- 
troverted passages,  297. 

delicate  passajjes,  297. 

portions  of  scripture  adapted  to, 
298. 

aids  to  exposition,  300. 
Expression  of  the  countenance,  495. 
Extern poi-aneous  address,  449. 
Extemporaneous  preaching, 440, 453. 

advantages  of,  453,  461. 

objections  to,  answered,  454. 

should  be  adopted  by  beginner, 
465. 

should  be  adopted  by  others  as 
soon  as  possible,  467. 

important  requisites  for,  468. 

how  to  prepare  for    immediate 
delivery,  470. 

how  to  extemporize  in  the  pul- 
pit, 472. 
Eye,  power  and  use  of,  496. 

Facial  expression,  495. 

Failure  in  delivery,  fear  of,  445,  452, 

457. 
Faith,  Christian,  404. 
Fallacies,  H55. 

verbal,  355. 

other,  358. 
Farewell  sermons,  208. 
Faucliour,  Michel,  126. 
Feelings,  appeal  to  the,  376. 
Fenolon,  56,  188. 

"Diak'gueson  Eloquence,"  72. 

quoted,  96,  44S. 
Fichte,  quoted,  411. 
Figurative  language,  429. 
Figures  of  speecli,  4i:5,  4.:9. 
Finue.v,  C  G.,  57,  165,  317. 

revival  preaching  of,  253. 

quoted,  215,  236, 238,  245,  247, 503. 
Fish,  H.  C,  "  Select  Discourses,"  73. 
Flavel,  50,  374. 

Flocklmrt,  Kobert,  quoted,  2.32. 
Force,  in  style,  419. 
i'ormality  i:i  tlje  pulpit,  502. 
Forter,  Jiishop,  44.i. 
Fowler,  \V.  C,  quoted,  400. 
Franklin,  l^ciij.,  105. 
French  sernion,  126. 
Frobisher,  J.  K..,  quoted,  486. 
Funeral  sermons,  227. 

for  children,  228. 


for  adult  Christiang,  233. 
for     the     unconverted,    irrelig- 
ious, and  unbelieving,  2::9. 

O 

Gaichies,  quoted,  320. 
Galileo,  33,  109. 

quoted,  94.  348. 
Garrick,  David,  quoted,  45,  251,  476, 

499. 
Gathering  of  homiletical  material,87. 

sources  from  whicii  to  gather,  bS. 
General  literature,  a  source  of  mate- 
rial, 95. 
General  preparation  for  preaching, 

37. 
General  terms,  use  of,  423. 
Geoffrey,  111. 
German  sermon,  126. 
Gesttire,  489. 

position,  490. 

action,  490. 

tables  of  gesture,  491. 

some  directions  in  regard  to,  494. 

must  not  neutralize  or  contra- 
dict the  words,  494. 

excess  to  be  avoided,  494. 

monotony  to  be  avoided,  495. 

facial  expression,  495. 

the  eye,  496. 

the  mouth,  497. 
Gibbon;  78,  414. 
Gillies,  Dr.,  quoted,  252. 
Giving,  preaching  on,  223, 
Gluck,  524.  • 
Goethe,  111,  436. 
Goodness  as  a  motive,  390. 
Gospel,  the,  what  it  embraces,  25. 
Gough,  John  B.,  145. 
Gould,  "Post-Medieval  Preachers," 

cited,  314. 
Graham,  05. 

Green,  Ashbel,  quoted.  200. 
Gregory,  Nazianzen,  125. 
Gresley,  W.,  104,  443. 

'■  Ecdesiantes  Anglicamis,"  72. 

quoted,  167,  343,  351. 
Gruber,  Jacob.  232. 
(iuUiver,  John  P.,  quoted,  97. 
Gunn,  quoted,  44. 
(Juthrie,  Thos.,  57, 127,  338,  451. 

quoted,  419. 


TIaeckel,  32,  200. 

Hall,  Bishop,  127.  194,259. 

Hall,  John,  ',..,  127,4r.9. 

quoted,  21,  14:!,  194,  470. 
Hall,  Newman,  57,  265,  443,  459. 
Hall,  Robert,  .^3,  127,  188,  259,  285, 
326,  459,  463. 

preacliing  of,  82. 

quoted,  38, 448. 


Index, 


573 


Hamilton,  .Tas,,  3"S. 

Jiamilton,  Sir  William,  quoted,  358. 

Hauimond,  E.  P.,  revival  preaching 

of,  254. 
Handel,  487. 

Happiness,  as  a  motive,  390, 
Harmony,  in  language,  428. 
Harms,  Pastor,  cited,  306. 
Hartmann,  40. 
Hastings,  Warren,  366. 
Haven,  Jos.,  77. 
quoted,  347. 
Hazlitt,  quoted,  501. 
Healtii,  necessary  to  good  delivery, 

488. 
Hebrew  poetry,  527. 
Hegel,  32,  41. 
Helvetius,  quoted,  96. 
Henry,  jMatlhew,  259. 

quoted,  240. 
Henry,  Patrick,  396. 
Hensliaw,  J.  K.,  443. 
Hermeneutics,  170. 
works  on,  171. 
Hervey,  G.  W.,  quoted,  370,  380. 
Hill,  Rowland,  quoted,  242,  331. 
Historical  and  biographical  sermons, 

219. 
JHistory,  a  source  of  homiletical  ma- 
terial, 92. 
of  the  sermon,  124. 
of  the  use  of  the  text,  153. 
of  modes  of  delivery,  439. 
of  lay  preaching,  554. 
Tlitchcock,  Prof.,  226. 
Hobljes,  quoted,  306. 
Hodge,  Charles,  "  Systematic  Theol- 
ogy," cited,  344. 
Holiday  sermons,  209. 
Holiness,   desire    of,   as    a    motive, 

390. 
Holland,  J.  G.,  quoted,  260. 
Holmes,  O.  W.,  481. 

quoted,  145. 
Holy  Spliit,   aid  of,   in   preaching, 
162,  448. 
aid  of,  to  produce  eloquence,  405. 
Homer,  399. 
Homilaria,  124. 
Homiletical  literature,  71. 
Homiletical  material,  how  to  gather, 
lo3. 
how  to  appropriate  and  use,  107. 
Homiletics,  province  of,  18. 
theoretical,  70,  117. 
systematic  classification  of,  71. 
literature  of,  71. 
historical,  works  on,  76. 
practical,  77. 
definition  of,  127. 
relation  of  sermon  to,  127. 
Homily,  124,  277. 
Hooker,  R.,  quoted.  446. 


Hoppin,  J.  M.,  318,  443. 
"Homiletics,"  75. 

quoted,  23,  24,  25,  30,  78,  80, 
82,  111,  117,   153,    158,    ICO, 
186,  209,  210,  ;;04,  307,    309, 
310,  313,  320,  332,  354,  377, 
383,  409,  422,  432,  434,  440, 
468,  485. 
"Office  and  Work  of  the  Chris- 
tian Ministry,"  75. 
quoted,  57,  144,  332,  341,  342, ' 
376,  504,  525. 
Horace,  77,  523, 

quoted,  189,  403. 
Home,  quoted,  173. 
llortensius,  463. 

Howe,  John,  56,  86,  127,  317,  396,455. 
Hume,  David,  his  argument  against 
miracles,  358. 
quoted,  432. 
Humility,  63. 

Humor,  m  preaching  to  children,  275. 
Ilumpln-ey,  Dr.,  quoted,  108. 
Huntington,  F.  D.,  quoted,  222. 
llurst,  John,  "  History  of  Rational- 
ism," cited,  163. 
lluss,  John,  56. 
Huxley,  T.  H.,  32,  41. 
llyacinthe,  Pere,  126,  451. 
Ilymnologv,  study  of,  526. 
Hymns,  513,  523. 

influence  of  music,  523. 
congregational  singing,  525. 
choir  singing,  525. 
effect  of  song-service,  upon  what 

it  depends,  525. 
kind  of  hymns  to  be  used,  525. 
taste  for  lyric  poetry,  525. 
study  of  hymnology,  526. 
rules  for  selecting  hjanns,  527. 
manner  of  reading  hymns,  529. 
reasons  for  reading,  529. 
lining,  529. 

rhythm  and  rhyme,  530. 
pauses,  530. 
Hyijerbole,  419. 
llyiwthesis,  340. 
llysteron  JProteron,  358. 


Ignatius,  56. 
Illustrated  sermons,  224, 
Illustration,  338. 

Illustrations,  for  children's  sermons, 
276. 
books  on,  276. 
Imagery,  4J4. 
Imagination,  102,  275,  398. 
Index  rcrum,  106. 
Indexes,  use  of,  106. 
Induction,  348. 
Inferences,  373. 
Infidelity,  treatment  of,  30. 


574 


Index. 


Inspiration  not  to  be  expected  now, 

otj. 
Intellectual  preparation  for  preach- 
ing, 53. 

required  by  the  Scriptures,  53. 

an  essential  qualilicatiou,  53. 

of  Pf.ul,  of  Christ,  54. 

of  the  apostles,  65. 

of  the  cliurch  fathers,  56. 

of  other  great  preachei's,  56. 

classical  and  theological  educa- 
tion, 57. 

tends  to   make  one  intellectu- 
ally humble,  57. 

niakesone  plain  in  preaching,58. 

demanded  by  the  age,  59. 
Intensity  of  feeling,  498. 
Interj^retation,  of  tlie  Uible,  88. 

of  the  text,  170. 

ditliculties  of,  17iJ. 

prerequisites  of,  173. 

brief  rules  of,  174. 
Introduction  of  the  sermon,  302. 

definition  of,  304. 

design  of,  307. 

material  or  sources  of,  30S. 

improper  material  of,  313. 

character  or  quality  of,  315. 

length  of,  317. 

suggestions  on  composition  of, 
320. 
Introductory  sermons,  208. 
Invention,  323. 

rules  of,  328. 
Irenajus,  quoted,  258. 
Irony,  354. 


Jackson,  John,  quoted,  53. 
James,  J.  Angell,  459. 

"  An  Earnest  Ministry  the  Want 
of  the  Times,"  73. 

quoted,  50,  411. 
Jamieson,    Fausset,    and    Brown, 

quoted,  308. 
Janes,  Bisho^j,  201,  443. 
Jay,  William,  quoted,  143. 
Jerome,  440. 
Jesting,  359. 
Jewell,  1U4. 
Johnson,  Samuel,  414. 

quoted,  350. 
Julian,  30. 
Justin  Martyr,  56. 

Karnes,  Lord,  quoted,  428. 

Kant,  32,  392. 

Keckermann,   "  Rhetorica  JEcdesias- 

iic(e,"  cited,  154. 
Ken,  Bishop,  524. 

(i noted,  45. 
Kepler,  quoted,  94. 


Kidder,  D.  P.,  443. 

"Treatise   on    Homiletics,"    74. 
quoted,  177,  181,  190,  230,  317, 
328,   329,    330,    398,   436,   438, 
443,   444,   477,   500,   502,   5U4, 
505,   542,   553. 
cited,  340. 
Knapp,  G.  C,  cited,  344. 
Knox,  John,  57,  241,  248. 
Kollock,  S.  K.,  443. 
Kossuth,  quoted,  92. 


Lacordaire,  126,  451. 

Lamartine,  quoted,  92,  219. 

Lamont,  144. 

Language,  study  of  one's  own,  434 

works  on  English,  435. 
Lamed,  S.,  443. 

Law,  the,  the  preaching  of,  243. 
Law,  W.,  quoted,  44. 
Lay  preaching,  653. 

duty  of,  653. 

brief  history  of,  554. 

present  demand  for,  555. 

objections  to,  answered,  555» 
Leighton,  Robert,  86,  282. 

cited,  306. 
Length,  of  the  sermon,  143. 

©f  introduction,  317. 

of  conclusion,  382. 

of  public  prayer,  537. 
Levity  in  the  pulpit,  602. 
Life,  human,  sympathy  with,  401, 
Literature,  of  homiletics,  71,  134. 

general,  a  source  of  houiilet- 

ical  material,  95. 
study  of,  iu  cultivating  style^ 
436. 
Liturgies,  use  of,  513. 
Livingston,  John,  378. 
Locke,  J.,  414. 

Logic,   importance  of  understand- 
ing, 341. 

use  of,  in  the  pulpit,  359. 
Longevity  of  ministers,  105. 
Louis  tlie  Fourteenth,  quoted,  141. 
Love,    of    Jesus,    greatest    gospel 
theme,  243. 

as  a  motive,  391. 
Loyola,  Ignatius,  600. 
Lucian,  30. 
Luther,  Martin,  56,  126,  144,  283. 

preaching  of,  78. 

quoted,  79,  186,  319,  490,  497. 
Lycurgus,  258. 
Lyric  poetry,  525. 
Lyttou,  Lord,  quoted,  423. 

m: 

Macaulay,  Lord,  quoted,  97. 
Maclcod,  Alex.,  quoted,  271,  280, 
Mahan,  A.,  quoted,  358. 


Index. 


575 


Malan,  126. 
Malone,  111. 
Manning,  Jas.,  443. 
Manuscript,  use  of,  447. 
Markwood,  J.,  443. 
Marmoutel,  quoted,  825. 
Marsh,  G.  P.,  "  Lectures  on  the  En- 
glish Language,"  cited,  481. 
Mason,  J.  M.,86,  44:. 
Massillon.  56,  80,  8b,  126,  183. 

quoted,  305,  463,  4.s0. 
Masterpieces  of  eloquence,  86. 
Material,  gathering  of   homiletical, 
87. 

sources  of,  88. 

how  to  gather,  103. 

how  to  preserve,  105. 

how  to  appropriate  anH  use,  107. 

for  revival  sermons,  242. 

for  children's  sermons,  270. 

for  introduction,  308. 

origination  of,  323. 

arrangement  of,  329. 

for  conclusion,  369. 
McCheyne,  127. 
McClintock,  J.,  quoted,  217. 
McClintock  and  Strong's  "  Cyclope- 
dia," quoted,  GO. 
cited,  159. 
McCosh,  James,  35. 

"Logic,"  cited,  193,  355. 
quoted,  355,  358. 
McHvaine,  J.  H.,  482. 

quoted,  488,  491,  496. 
Medieval  preaching,  125. 
Melancthon,  56,  65,  126,  283. 

quoted,  78. 
Melville,  206. 
Memoranda,  of  texts,  170. 

of  subjects,  105, 
Memorial  sermons,  210. 
Memoriter  preaching,  440,  451,  462. 

disadvantages  of,  451. 

when  and  how  to  use,  462, 
Menander,  159. 
Merrill,  J.  G.,  265. 
Methods  of  preaeliing,  439. 
Mill,  J.  S.,  110,  34.3. 
Miller,  Samuel,  quoted,  260. 
Milton,  John, 61,  414,  422. 

"  Paradise  Lost,"  98,  121,  432. 

quoted,  422. 
Mind,  the,  102. 

Ministers,  successful,  men  of  learn- 
ing, 56. 
Ministry,  the  Christian,  work  com- 
posed of  two  ^reat   branches, 
17. 

pi-oper  conception  of,  38. 

nature  of,  40. 

purpose  of,  43. 

divine  call  to,  64. 
Missions,  Christian,  99,  232. 
37 


Models,  of  sermons,  77. 

of  eloquence,  86, 

of  sermons  to  children,  281. 

of  style,  436, 

of  Bible  readings,  558. 
Modes  of  delivery,  439, 
Modesty,  in  introduction,  318. 
Monod,  A.,  57,  126,  451, 

"  Lelivery  of  Sermons,"  73. 

quoted,  483,  487. 
Montgomery,  J.,  quoted,  526. 
Moody,  D,  L.,  101,  279,  283,  284,  338, 
392,  409,  430,  4s4,  557,  565. 

revival  preaching  of,  255. 

quoted,  24.3. 
Moore,  D,,  443. 

"  Thoughts  on  Preaching,"  73. 

quoted,  82,  287. 
Moralitv,  subject  of  preaching,  221, 

271. 
More,  Thomas,  121. 
Morehouse,  557. 
Morse,  35. 
Motives,  which  should  be  presented, 

390. 
Moule,  '-  Christian  Oratory,"  76. 

cited,  143. 
Mozart,  524. 

Muhlenberg,  W.  A.,  526. 
MuUer,  J,,  86. 
Mullor,  Max,  quoted,  435. 
]Mullois,  quoted,  143. 
Murphy,  Thos,,  '"Pastoral  Theolo- 
gy,--quoted,  25,  145,  164,  249, 
471, 
Murray,  N,,  cited,  450. 
Music,  influence  of,  523. 

]V 
Narration,  335, 
Naturalness,  in  style,  432. 

in  elocution,  477. 
Nature,  an  energetic,  effect  on  style, 

420. 
Neale,    "  Medieval    Preachers    and 
Preaching,"  76. 
cited,  154. 
Neander,  125,  554. 
quDted,  441. 
cited,  404, 
Need  ham,  557, 
Nettleton,  Asahel,  revival  preaching 

of,  252. 
Newman,  J.  H,,  m,  127,  319. 
Newton,  Is^ac,  35,  56. 
Newton,  John,  526. 

quoted,  61. 
Newton,  Richiird,  263,  268, 

quotod,  259,  2(52,  263,  264, 265,  268, 
280, 
"North  British  Review,"  76. 
Notes,  use  of,  in  the  pulpit,  472. 


576 


Index. 


o 

Olmsted,  Prof.,  107. 
Onomatopoeia,  428. 
Orators,  model,  396. 
Origen,  5tJ,  91,  124,  440,  555. 
Original  language  of  the  Bible,  172. 

knowledge    of,   important,   173, 
292,  300. 
Originality  and  plagiarism,  109. 
Origination  of  material,  323. 
Ornament  in  style,  42ti. 
Otterbein,    Philip  William,  57,   62, 

443. 
Out-door  sermons,  230,  362. 

advantages  of,  211. 

suggestions  on,  234. 
Outlines  of  sermons,  examples  of, 

topical,  1^9. 

textual,  202.- 

children's,  265. 

expository,  289. 
Owen,  Alex.,  443. 
Owen,  J.,  66,  127. 


Paine,  Thos.,  259. 
Palmer^  318. 

^'-  Evavgelische  Homiletik,''^  cited, 
153. 
Palmer,  Ray,  526. 

Park,  10.  A.,  quoted,  191,  248,  251,  459. 
Parker,  Jos.,  86,  325,  443. 

quoted,  403,  461.  522. 
Paronymous  words  356. 
Parts  of  the  sermon,  303. 
Pascal  27. 
Pastor',  the,  his  duties  different  from 

those  of  the  preacher,  17. 

not   necessarily  a   successful 
preacher,  17. 
Paul,  the  theme  of  his  preaching,  28. 

why  successful,  38. 
Paulus,  27. 

Payson,  E.,  44,  248,  443,  480. 
Periodicals,  100. 
P^rowne,  J.  J.  S.,  quoted,  173. 
Perspicuity  of  stvle,  410. 
Per-nasion,  332,  389. 

how  best  accomplished,  390. 
Pertinency,  in  the  introduction, 316. 
Peter  of  Cellre,  154. 
Petitio  principii,  M58. 
Phelps,  Austin,  "Theory  of  Preach- 
ing," 75. 

quoted.  33,  118,  157,  184,  193,  195, 
318,  3G5,  372,  374,  375,  377, 471. 
Phillips,  Wendell,  145,  445. 
Philosophy,  a  source  of  homiletical 

material,  94. 

its  nuitability,  40. 

books  on,  95. 
Phocion,  422. 


Physical  preparation  for  preaching, 

46. 
Piety,  see  spiritual  preparation;  also, 

5;il. 
Pilmoor,  Jos.,  443. 
Pindar   121,  525. 
Plagiarism,  109. 
Plan  of  the  sermon,  303,  329. 
Plans,stereotyped,  to  be  avoided,191. 
Platform  addresses,  541. 

requisites  for,  542. 

character  of,  453. 
Plato,  122. 
Plutarch,  50. 
Poetical  language,  427. 
Political  sermons.  208. 
Polycarp  259. 
Pope,  Alex.,  121,  414. 

quoted,  107,  429. 
Porter,  E.,    '  Lectures  on  Horailet- 
ics,"  72. 

quoted,  125,  164, 166,  241. 

"Eloquence  and  Style,'  quoted, 
41.0,407,412,416,423. 
Porter,  Noah,  "  Human  Intellect," 

quoted,  326. 

cited,  350. 
Position,  in  delivery,  490. 
Potter,   T.  J.,  quoted    183,  320,  360, 

361,  500. 
Potts,  Geo.,  443. 
Practical  homiletics,  77,  389. 

definition  of,  77. 

use  of,  77. 
Practical  sermons,  221. 
Prayer,  Ji,  327,  471,  504,  513. 

public,  513,  531 
general  requisites   for,  531. 
important  qualities  of,  533. 

works  on,  532. 
Prayer-meeting  addresses,  544. 

importance  of  preparation,  544, 

method  of  preparation,  545. 

selection  of  topics,  545. 

list  of  topics,  548. 

general  character  of,  549. 
Preacher,  the,  17. 

distinguished  from  pastor,  17. 

resemblance  of,  and  sermon,  18. 

contrast  between,  and  sermon, 
21. 

Christ's  embassador,  22. 

dignity  of  his  otlice,  22. 

influence  of,  23. 

preaching,  liis  chief  dutj',  24. 

Christ  a  preacher,  24. 

Ins  theme,  Christ,  25. 

liis  relation  to  scientific  and  pop- 
ular skepticism,  30. 

his  general  preparation,  37. 

proper  conception  of  his  oflSce, 
38. 

Lis  physical  preparation,  46. 


Index. 


S77 


his  intellectual  preparation,  53. 
his  spiritual  preparation.  60. 
his  call  to  the  ministry,  64. 
his  relation  toother  pursuits, G:.. 
common  sense  needed,  67. 
his  special  preparation,  70. 
an  expounder  of  the  word,  171, 
perpetuation    of   his   influence, 
446. 
Preachei-s,  eminent,  77,  251. 
Preaching,   the  chief   duty  of    the 
preacher,  24. 
the  appointed  means  of  saving 

the  world,  24. 
hooks  on,  71. 
lectures  on,  75. 
articles  on,  76. 
definition  of,  127. 
quality    of,    demanded    by    the 

times,  134. 
facilities  of,  134. 
spirit  of  evangelical,  137. 
should  be  less  in  quantitv  and 

better  in  quality,  160,  207. 
apologetic,  218. 
polemic,  210. 
ethical,  219. 
historical,  219. 
biograpuicai,  219. 
revival,  236. 
to  children,  256. 
modes  of,  439. 
lay,  553. 
Precision  of  language,  413. 
Preface,  1. 

Preliminary  services,  614. 
Preparation  for    preaching,  its  im- 
portance, 37. 
general,  37. 
physical,  46. 
intellectual,  53. 
spiritual,  60. 
special,  70. 
Preparatory,  17. 
"Presbyterian  Quarterly  Review," 

quoted,  326. 
Preservation,  of  material,  105. 

of  sermons,  446,  458. 
Pressen.se,  E.  de,  57,  126. 
"Princeton  Review."  73,  76. 

quoted,  31,  33,  35,  79. 
Professions    and    occupations,   ser- 
mons to,  216. 
Progress,  in  the  discussion,  332. 
Prolixity,  in  style,  416. 
Proposition,  the,  181. 
definition  of,  182. 
advantage  of,  182. 
statement  of,  183. 
suppression  of,  184. 
qualities  of,  185. 
Propriety,  in  the  public  .services,  503. 
Providential  occurrences,  211. 


Provincialisms,  to  be  avoided,  415. 
"Pseudo-Clementine  Homilies,"  124, 
Publication  of  sermons,  446,  458,460.. 
Pulpit  addresses,  651. 

exhortation,  551. 

lay  preaching,  653. 

Bible-readings,  557. 
Pulpit,    the,    the    mainspring    of 
church-enterprise,  24. 

eloquence,  389. 
Punsheon,  49. 
Pythagoras,  40. 

Q 

Quintilian,  182. 

"Institutes,"  77. 
quoted,  382,  405,  410,  411. 

R 

Randolph,  John,  481. 

Reading  and  study,  system  of,  103, 

preserving  results  of,  105. 
Reading  of  announcements,  5C6. 
Reading  of  scripture,  515. 

selecting  scripture- lesson,  515. 
art  of  reading  scripture  lesson.. 

517. 
announcement  of  scripture-les- 
son, 521. 
spiritual  preparation  for,  521. 
responsive,  521. 

preparation   of   I'eading- lesson. 
522. 
Reading  of  sermons,  441,  444. 
advantages  of,  445. 
disadvantages  of,  446. 
when  and  how  to  use  this  meth- 
od, 464. 
Reading,  suggestive.  341. 
Reasoning,  iinpoitance  of,  341. 
Recapitulation,  370. 
Record  of  texts,  169. 
lieductio  ad abauidum,  353. 
Refutation,  350. 
modes  of,  352. 
arrangement  of,  354. 
Rein  hard,  28 1,  451. 
Remarks,  use  of,  in  conclusion,  373, 
Renau,  27,  30,  136. 
Repeating  sermons,  145,  446,  458. 
Reproof,  public,  607. 
Responsive  reading  of  scripture,  521. 
Resurrection,  the,  fnllacy  of  argu- 
ment against,  352. 
Revival  sermons,  23fi,  362. 
general  rem.uks,  236. 
a  fttndamental  requisite  for  ef- 
fective, li40. 
character  of,  241. 
general  matter  of,  242. 
special  matter  of,  244. 
manner  of,  245. 


578 


hidex. 


questions  on,  249. 

revivalists,   eminent,  preaching 
of,  201. 
Eevivals,  236,  556. 

books  oil,  255. 
Reynolds,  Joshua,  130. 
Rhythm  in  hymns-,  530 
Richmond,  Lcifjli,  59. 
Riddle,    "Christian    Antiquities," 

cited,  154. 
Ripley,  H.  J.,  440. 

"Sacred  Rhetoric,"  72. 
quoted,  40o. 
cited,  198. 
Roberts,  Kubert,  248. 
Robertson,  F.  W.,  127,  318,  409,  43G, 
472. 

preaching  of,  83. 
Robinson,  Robert,  quoted,  313. 
Rogers,  quoted,  194,  418. 
Rossini,  5.4. 
Rousseau,  259. 
Rules,  vahieof,  128. 
Russell,  W.,  quoted,  483. 
Rutherford,  quoted,  44. 

Sankey,  Ira  D.,  487. 
Saurin,  56,81,  82,  126,  396. 
Schatr,  Philip,  qtioted,  2u4,  526. 
Scheiikel,  27. 
Schiller,  quoted,  180. 
Schleiermacher-  F.,  86,  126,  326. 

quoted,  206.' 
Schopenhauer,  40. 
Schott.,  quoted,  304. 
Hchwegler,  quoted,  94,  95. 
Science,  the  preaclier's  relation  to,  30. 

a  source  of  homiletical  material, 
93. 
Scrap-books,  use  of,  106. 
Scrii)tuies,  reading  of  the,  515. 
Selection,  of  text,  156,  15-<,  161,  169. 

of  scripturo-lesson,  515. 

of  hymns,  527. 
Self -possession  in  llie  pulpit,  500. 
Sensationalism,  394. 
Sensibility,  strong,  421. 
Sentences,  unity  in,  423. 
Series  of  sermons,  148. 
Sermon,  tlie,  117. 

models  of,  77. 

deliuition  and  description,  117. 

a  specialty  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry, 11  . 

brief  history  of,  124, 

tlio  Ceruiau,  l.'i6. 

the  French,  liu. 

the  liritisli,  126. 

the  American,  127. 

its  relation  to  homiletics  127. 

should  bo  no  ordinary  edort,  129. 

aim  of,  131. 


of  to-day  ought  to  excel,  133. 

general  properties  ot,  137. 

length  of,  143. 

repetitioa  of,  145,  446,  458. 

series  of,  14s. 

one  or  two  a  Sabbath?  148. 

the  text  of,  153. 

species  of,  178. 

the  topical,  180. 

proposition  of,  181. 

divisions  of,  186. 

the  textual,  2ol. 

varieties  of,  207. 

introductory,  farewell,  political, 
and  tria'l,  208. 

on   jiopular  amusements,  209. 

for  special  occasions,  209. 

to  special  classes  of  hearers,  211. 

doctrinal,  217. 

historical  and  biographical,  219. 

practical  and  experimenial,  221. 

illustrated.  224. 

funeral,  227. 

out-door,  2  ;0. 

revival,  236. 

to  children,  256. 

expository,  282. 

introduction  to,  ."02. 

composition  of,  302. 

plan  of,  3ii3. 

parts  of,  303. 

the  discussion  of,  323. 

develoimieut  oT  323. 

final  criticism  of,  363. 

conclusion  of,  365. 

style  of,  4 'S. 

delivery  of,  439. 

Ijreservation  of,  446,  458. 

publication  of,  440,  458,  460. 

influence  of  public  devotion 
upon,  514. 
Sermonetie,  the,  265. 
Service  of  song,  2()7. 
Shakespeare,  58,  61,  399,  414,  436,  496. 

quoted,  393,  424,  477. 
Shaw,  'I'.  li.,  quoted,  98. 
Shedd,  W.  CI.  T.,  72,  179,  303,  443. 

"Homiletics  and  Pastoral  The- 
olojv,"  74. 
quoted,  25,  41,  68,  70,  105,  100, 
144,  177,  194,  195,  •JOti.  2>^7, 
3'i7,  327,  36»i,  37!,  379,  415, 
4 IS,  419,  420,  421,  430,  454, 
457,  467,  474,  535. 
cited,  12M,  2')1,373. 

"Cierii'al  JCducition, "quoted, 59. 

"Histoivott  hristian  l)octnne," 
cih>('l,:',ll. 

Introduction    to    Tlioremin's 
"Rheioric."  quoted,  308,  400. 
Shepherd,  Geo.,  quoted,  213.  248. 
Sheridan,  R.  I'..,  quoted,  466. 
Sigourney,  Mrs.,  526. 


I?idex. 


579 


Simon  Magns,  124. 

Simplicity,  iu  tlae  iutroduction,  318. 

in  style,  429. 
Simpson,  M.,  75. 

quoied,  23, 51,  52,  66, 164, 189, 194, 
261,  895,  419,  456, 466,  474,  498. 
Singing,  choir,  525. 

congregatioiuxl,  525. 
Skepticism,  popular   and  scientific, 

how  to  deal  with,  30. 
"  Sketches  "  of  sermons,  112. 
Skinner,  T.  H.,  73,  443. 

quoted,  375. 
Smith,  J.  B.,  320. 
Smith,  Sydney,  quoted  491. 
Socrates,  288. 

quoted,  453. 
Solecisms,  415. 
Solon,  258. 

quoted,  403. 
Sophocles,  121. 
Sources  of  material,  for  sermon,  88. 

for  introduction,  308. 

lor  conclusion,  369. 
South,  Robert,  56,  80,  127,  319. 

quoted,  29,  42. 
Special  occasions,  sermons  for,  209. 
Special  preparation  for  preaching,  70. 
Si^ecies  ot  sermons,  178. 
Specific  terms,  use  of,  423. 
Spencer,  H.,  32. 
Spenser,  E.,  Ill,  414. 
SiJinoza,  93. 

Spiritual  preparation  for  preaching, 
60.  — 

importance  of,  60. 

nature  of,  61. 
Spiritualism,  348. 
Spilng,  Dr.,  quoted,  63. 
Spurgeon,  ('.  II.,  83,  111,  127, 169,279, 
338,  392,  409,  443,  472, 

quoted,  27,  2al,  235,  260,  274,  483. 

"Lectures  to  My  Students,"  75. 
Spurious  and  interpolated  passages 

of  scriptui-e,  160. 
Stearns,  Dr.,  quoted,  404. 
Stephens,  Kobert,  289. 
Stewart,  Dugald,  quoted,  82, 
Stimulants,  use  of,  51. 
Stone,  Geo.  M.,  quoted,  521. 
Storrs,  R.  S.,  229. 

quo    d,  402r  470. 
ItowO;     roif.  quoted,  68. 
.trang  r.  invitation  of,  to    preach 

d  u-'ng  revivals,  249. 
Etrauss,  '^i,  30. 

"  "-.if.  of  Chri:-%"  347. 
Strong-,  Jcmes,  quoted,  289. 

tudy, '  ystem  oi',  103. 
Style,  4/8. 

definition  of,  408. 

conversational,  409. 

primary  qualities  of,  410. 


relative  importance  of  primary 

qualities,  429. 
secondary  qualities,  430. 
means  of  acquiring  a  good,  433. 
models  of,  436. 
Subdivisions,  198. 
Sununerfield,  285,  517. 

quoted,  226,  450. 
Sunday-school,  the,  as  a  subject  of 
preaching,  2J2. 
its  use  in  revivals,  250. 
Surroundings  of  daily  life,  a  source 

of  homiletical  material,  100. 
Swedenborg,  p].,  91. 
Swift,  Dean,  quoted,  408,  491. 
Symmetry  of  the  discourse,  331. 
Sympathetic  tone,  482. 
Sympathy,  with   the   truth,  91,  174, 
359,  400. 
Avith  human  life,  401. 
System,  of  reading  and  study,  103. 
of  preserving  results  of  reading 
and  study,  105. 

T 

Tacitus,  422. 

Talmage,  T.  D.,  86,  127, 338,  395,  443. 
Taylor,  Father,  quoted,  216,  474. 
Taylor,  Jeremy,  o6,  79,  1:^7,  396. 

quoted,  379. 
Taylor,  W.  iM.,  75,  292,  294. 

quoted,  68,  142,  284,  293,  296,  29'^. 

cited,  395. 
Technicalities,  to  be  avoided,  414. 
Tennent,  G.,  252. 
Terseness,  417. 
Tertullian,  555. 
Testimony,  847. 
Text,  the,  153. 

history  of  the  use  of,  153. 

definition  of,  154. 

objections  to  use  of,  155. 

reasons  for  selecting,  156. 

portions  of  the  Bible  from  which 
to  select,  158. 

in  what  form  to  be  presented,  loO. 

how  to  select,  161. 

rules  for  selection,  161. 

when  to  select,  169. 

systematic  record  of  texts,  169. 

interpretation  of,  170. 

how  to  obtain  proper  theme  from, 
175. 

how  to  read,  505. 
Textual  sermon,  201. 

modes  of  treating,  202. 
Thales,  40,  95,  360. 
Theme,  how  to  obtain  from  the  text 

175. 
Themes,  great,' 162. 
Themistoeles,  463. 
Theological  education,  57. 
Theology,  improvement  in,  135. 


58o 


Index. 


Theoretical  homiletics,  70,  117. 

definiliou  of,  70. 

literature  of,  71. 
Theremin,  F.,  68,  404. 

"  Eloquence  a  Virtue,"  72. 

"Systematic  Rhetoric,"  cited, 
314. 

quoted,  318. 
Tholuck,  F.  A.  G.,  86,  126,  402. 
Thoujpson,  C.  L.,  "Times  of  Kef  resil- 
ing," cited,  242. 

quoted,  252,  254,  562. 
Thompson,  H.  A.,  quoted,  256. 
Thompson,  L.  O.,  quoted,  548. 
Thomson,  J.,  414, 
Thought,  peuetrative,  421. 
Thwing,  E.  P.,  quoted,  447,  481,  482, 

485,  488,  489. 
Tillotson,  69,  390. 

quoted,  137. 
Title  of  the  book  defined,  17. 
Todd,  John,  338. 

quoted,  264. 
Topical  sermon,  the,  180. 
Toplady,  A.,  626. 
Torricelli,  109. 

Townsend,  L.  T.,  quoted,  121,478. 
Transition,  198. 

Translations    of   the    Bible,   inade- 
quacy of,  173,  292. 
Travel,  57. 

buuks  of,  100. 
Trebonius,  John,  quoted,  281. 
Trial  sermons,  208. 
Tropes,  use  of,  425. 
Truth,  its  nature  and  immutability, 
40. 

love  of,  necessary  to  interpreta- 
tion, 174. 

its  relation  to  eloquence,  397. 
Tucker,  E.,  443. 
Tyerman,  quoted,  252. 
Tyndall,  J.,  32. 
Tyng,  S.  H.,  sen.,  208,  272. 

quoted,  258,  263. 

XJ 

Unity,  promoted  by  texts,  157. 

an  advantage  of  the  proposition, 
182. 

promoted  by  divisions,  187. 

in  divisions,  193. 

of  structure  in  expository  ser- 
mons, 1^87. 

in  the  Introduction,  315. 

in  the  discussion,  330. 

in  narration,  336. 


Varieties  of  sermons,  207. 
Variety,  promoted  bv  divisions,  187. 
in  treatment  of  sermons,  191,362. 


necessary,  207. 
in  tlie  introduction,  319. 
in  the  conclusion,  383. 
Vaughan,  57. 
Vehemence,  419. 
Vincent,  J.  II.,  quoted,  258,  559. 
Vinet,  Alex.,  86,  124,  126,  451. 
"  Homiletics,"  72. 
quoted,  25,  87, 118, 128,  139,  152, 
155,  180,  195,  197, 198,200, 2(i8, 
219,  242,  289,  3U2, 316, 325,  3:!4, 
335,  351,  3  9,  370,  378,397,402, 
413,  428,  430. 
cited,  189. 
Virgil,  399,  460,  487. 
Voice,  the,  480. 

reasons  for  cultivating,  480. 
quality  of,  481. 
compass  of,  482. 
articulation,  483. 
emi^basis,  485. 
volume  of,  485. 

so  me  directions  in  regard  to,  486. 
Voltaire,  259. 

quoted,  154. 
Volume  of  voice,  485. 
Vulgarity,  to  be  avoided,  415. 

W 

Walker,  "Phil,  of   Plan  of  Salva- 

tion,"  cited,  219. 
Wallace,  quoted,  221. 
War  burton,  463. 
Ware,  Henry,  jun.,  443. 

"Hints   on    Extemporaneous 

Preaching,"  72. 
quoted,  461,  500. 
Watts,  I.,  259,  524,  620. 
Wayland,  F.,  443. 

"Eetters  on  the  Ministry  of  the 
Gospel,"  73. 
quoted,  65,  67,  lt6. 
cited,  156. 
Webster,  Daniel,  49,  156,396,415. 

quoted,  137,  161,372. 
Weeping,  in  tue  pulpit,  377. 
Welsh,  2:. 2. 

quoted,  44, 
Weslev,  C'lias.,  526, 
Wesley,  John,  57,  62,  81,127,524,555. 

quoted,  103,  104,  232. 
Whatelv,  K.,  77,  338,  343,  41C. 

"Kiietoric,"     quoted,    309,    3(0, 

354,  393,  413,  41(i,  420. 
"  Logic,"  quoted,  356,  358,  359. 
Whitetield,  G.,  49,  57,  127,  144,  145, 
232,  251,  Zi2,  392,  .395,  396,  40l, 
403,  480,  485. 
quoted,  44,  240,  432. 
Whittle,  Major,  557. 

qnoted,  564. 
Wilkes,  M.,  104. 
Wilson,  Jas.,  quoted,  367. 


Index, 


581 


Witherspoon,  65. 

Witsius,  65. 

Witticism,  501. 

Women,  sermons  to,  214. 

Wordswortii,  408. 

Worship,  pnblic,  513. 

Writing,  careful  practice  in,  436, 459. 

mechanical  work  of,  448. 
Wycliflfe,  56. 


Xenophenes,  93. 


Yarrow,  quoted,  84. 

Young,  E.,  414. 

Young,  sermons  to  the,  212. 

Z 

Zincke,  F.  B.,  467. 

"Duty  and  Discipline  of  Extem- 
poraneous Preaching,"  73. 

quoted,  303. 
Zwingli,  56. 


